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Isiaih Mosley
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Bears and 'Birds Ready to Square Off Wednesday at JQH

January 16, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 20 - Missouri State Bears (13-6, 4-2 MVC) vs. Illinois State Redbirds (9-8, 2-2 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022 | 7:02 p.m. (Central)
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Promotions "The Office" Night | Dundies Giveaway | Neon Night
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV / ESPN3 (Don West, Jim Middleton) | Watch
Series Illinois State leads, 45-34 | Last Meeting: ILST 79, MSU 74 (ot), 12/1/21) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Illinois State |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Saturday, Jan. 22 at Loyola Chicago (2:30 p.m.) on CBS Sports Network

The Ten Count
  • With wins in 9 of their last 11 games, the Missouri State Bears return to JQH Arena on Wednesday for a key Missouri Valley Conference showdown against Illinois State at 7 p.m. Coach Dana Ford's squad has revenge on its mind after it dropped a 79-74 OT decision at Redbird Arena earlier this season (Dec. 1, 2021) in The Valley opener for both teams.
  • Wednesday's game features the top two scorers in the Missouri Valley in Illinois State's Antonio Reeves (20.9 ppg) and Missouri State's Isiaih Mosley (20.0). Last season, Mosley became the first MSU player to lead the MVC in scoring.
  • Isiaih Mosley's (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) continues to post jaw-dropping offensive numbers, racking up 108 points over his last 3 games (36.0 ppg) and becoming just the second Bear ever (Jimmie Dull - Feb. 18-25, 1978) to drop 30 points or more in three consecutive games. In that three-game span, Mosley has made 39-of-63 (.619) from the field and accounted for 68 points in the second half alone. Mosley has jumped to 18th in the KenPom player efficiency ratings (113.5) and enters the week ranked 20th nationally in scoring average (20.0 ppg). He leads the nation in FG made (141).
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in each of his last 6 games, making 20-of-42 (.476) from long range in that span. For the season, Black has made multiple 3-pointers in 14-of-19 games and has moved into 10th place on MSU's career 3-pointer list (133).
  • Missouri State is 31-3 under coach Dana Ford when shooting 50% or better from the field, including a 5-3 mark this year.
  • Mosley has scored in double figures in 49-of-75 career games, including 26 games with 20 or more points.  
  • Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) ranks 1st in the MVC and 42nd in the nation in total minutes (587:47) this season. He has racked up 5 or more rebounds in 12 of the last 13 games for the Bears, including a game-high 9 boards at Valpo.
  • The Bears start the week ranked 15th in effective field goal percentage (.555) by KenPom and 32nd in adjusted offensive efficiency (112.7). Among 350 Division I programs, the Bears also rank 7th in 3-point FG% (.396), 14th in FT% (.783) and 17th in overall FG% (.486), while ranking 41st in scoring (78.9).
  • Missouri State is the only team in the country to boast three players with 40 or more 3-pointers this season. Led by Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) with 52, Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) with 46 and Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) with 43, the Bears' 182 threes as a team ranks 9th among all Division I programs. The Bears have eclipsed 200 3-pointers 11 times in their history, including four of the last five seasons.
  • Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) is averaging 9.5 points per game in Missouri Valley Conference play, while making 24-of-49 (.490) field goals against league foes. The Bears are 9-2 with Patterson in the starting lineup. He is 12 points away from 200 for his career (42g) and 7 rebounds from 100.
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has accumulated 18 assists over the last 6 games (3.0 apg) and ranks 19th nationally in total rebounds (153), 29th in double-doubles (6) and 38th in field goal percentage (.565), all of which lead the MVC.
  • Bears head coach Dana Ford is a 2006 graduate of Illinois State where he played for coaches Tom Richardson and Porter Moser from 2002-06 as a regular starter, leading the Redbirds in steals his senior year. Ford is 5-3 in his career against Illinois State, including a 5-2 ledger as Missouri State's head coach.
  • The Bears start the week No. 67 in the Kenpom rankings and 87 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 62-46 (.574) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 38-15 ledger at JQH Arena, 19-23 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 119-111 (.517) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 5-3 all-time against Illinois State (5-2 as Bears head coach).
  • Ford picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62). The Dec. 15, 2021 win over South Dakota State was Ford's 100th as Bears head coach.
  • Last season, Ford was named to ESPN's College Basketball 40 Under 40 list at No. 35 and was on the list of national finalists for both the Skip Prosser Award and Ben Jobe Award. The Bears completed the 2020-21 campaign with a 17-7 overall record and 12-6 ledger in the Missouri Valley Conference (third) before advancing to the MVC Tournament semifinals. Missouri State was 7-2 in road conference games to match a program high-water mark, while Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim earned All-MVC first team honors, and Demarcus Sharp earned a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team.
  • He was introduced as Missouri State's 18th men's basketball coach on March 22, 2018 after coaching the previous four seasons at Tennessee State. The native of Tamms, Illinois was 57-65 (.467) at Tennessee State, including a 52-39 ledger in his last three seasons in Nashville. He coached five All-OVC players and two OVC All-Newcomer Team selections during his tenure at TSU. Under his leadership, TSU doubled its home attendance average and twice earned votes in the AP Top 25 poll in 2016-17.
  • Ford, 37, earned the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation's top Division I minority coach. That same year, he was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 19 Coach of the Year after engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history, swaying Tennessee State from a 5-26 record in his first season to a 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
  • He has served as an assistant at Tennessee State, Wichita State and Illinois State and was responsible for recruiting future NBA talents such as Robert Covington (Trail Blazers) and Fred Van Vleet (Raptors).
Series History
  • The series between the Bears and Redbirds dates back to the 1967 NCAA Division II semifinals - a 93-76 win by the Bears en route to their runner-up showing. Illinois State leads the all-time series, 45-34. Against the Redbirds, MSU is 9-28 in Normal, 22-13 in Springfield (7-5 at JQH Arena) and 3-4 at neutral sites..
  • Last season, the Bears swept the regular-season series against ISU for the second straight year. In Game One (2/6/21), a pair of threes from Jared Ridder and some key defensive stops down the stretch led to a 74-67 Bears victory in Normal. Isiaih Mosley was 7-for-11 from the field for a team-high 19 points, while Gaige Prim racked up 14 points and 11 boards, and Demarcus Sharp posted 15 points and 4 assists. The next night (2/7/21), the Bears got 24 points from Mosley and battled through a second-half dry spell to score a 72-62 road victory. Prim added 16 points, and Ja'Monta Black added 10 in the road victory.
  • Earlier this season in Normal (12/1/21), Gaige Prim scored 27 points and snagged 12 rebounds as Missouri State dropped a 79-74 decision in overtime in the MVC opener. Prim finished 13-for-15 from the field en route to the 22nd double-double of his career. The Bears led 62-53 with 4:14 left in regulation after Jaylen Minnett buried his third 3-pointer of the ball game. But a quick-striking Redbirds squad closed the gap to 62-61 just two minutes later with a layup from Ryan Schmitt and back-to-back 3-pointers by Kendall Lewis and Antonio Reeves. Isiaih Mosley scored a a layup on MSU's next trip to give the Bears a three-point cushion, but Illinois State knocked down another triple, this time by Josiah Strong, with 38 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime. | Stats
Rebound Foundation
  • Bears' head coach Dana Ford and his wife, Christina, are founders of the Rebound Foundation. The not-for-profit raises funds and awareness to help renew and restore women who have experienced a life of domestic abuse. The foundation provides a stable home and fresh start to abuse victims and their children. The Rebound Foundation currently provides homes in Springfield, Mo., and Chicago, Ill.
  • This year's Rebound Foundation game will be Sunday, Feb. 6 vs. Loyola.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link
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