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Missouri State

Ford

Bears Looking for Road Rebound at ORU

December 13, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 11 - Missouri State Bears (4-6) at  Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (8-3)
Date and Time Friday, Dec. 16, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location Mabee Center (8,781) | Tulsa, Okla.
Tickets ORUAthletics.com | (918) 495-6000
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live | Varsity Network
Television ORU Sports Network (Adam Hildebrandt) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 10-9 | Most-Recent Meeting: MSU 69, ORU 60 (12/11/21) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | ORU | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Fan Event Alumni Happy Hour & BearNation Event | Friday, 5 p.m. | Free to Attend - RSVP Requested
Scoreboard Sports Bar - River Spirit Casino Resort (8330 Riverside Pkwy, Tulsa)
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next MSU Hosts Central Michigan on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 5:00 p.m. | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State returns to the road Friday for its final non-conference game away from Great Southern Bank Arena this season when the Bears take on long-time rival Oral Roberts in Tulsa (7 p.m.). The Bears have won four of the last six meetings against the Golden Eagles and are looking to secure their first win at the Mabee Center since 2013.
  • The Bears rank 26th nationally and 2nd in the MVC in scoring defense (60.3 ppg). The most points the Bears have surrendered this season is 68 by UNCW (Nov. 25) in Nassau. The last time Missouri State got 10 games into the season without allowing a 70-point game was 1985-86 when Charlie Spoonhour's Bears surrendered 59.9 points per game all season and did not allow an opponent to eclipse 70 until Game 23 that season.
  • Missouri State is one of just 12 Division I teams that will play on the road in four different time zones during in its non-conference schedule. MSU's trips to BYU (Mountain), Nassau (Eastern), Saint Mary's (Pacific) and Oral Roberts (Central) will conclude a non-MVC slate that will take the Bears some 11,812 air and ground miles. 
  • The countdown to 1,000 career points for Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) is currently at 24. Clay is at 976 points in 107 games (including 63 games at Valparaiso). Clay is also sitting at 49 career double-figure scoring games (17 at Missouri State). 
  • After getting the starting call Saturday for the first time in his collegiate career, Chance Moore (So., Brookhaven, Ga.) posted career highs in points (23), field goals (9), field goal attempts (15) and minutes (30). Moore also posted 4 dunks in the game vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, including a break-away slam with under two minutes to go that tied the game. Moore has scored in double figures in 7-of-9 appearances so far this season and leads the Bears in scoring average (14.2 ppg).  
  • Alston Mason (So., Overland Park, Kan.) is averaging 9.9 ppg as a starter this season (7 starts) with multiple 3-pointers in 6-of-10 appearances overall. He has scored in double figures in two straight, including 14 vs. PFW on Saturday. 
  • Missouri State's 41 3-point field goal attempts in Saturday's game vs. Purdue Fort Wayne shattered the previous program record (38) and marked the 5th-most 3FGA ever by a Missouri Valley Conference team and the most in the league this season. MSU's mark, which was also a Great Southern Bank Arena record, matches the 12th-most attempts from beyond the arc in Division I this season. 
  • Donovan Clay has posted an assist in 11 straight games while recording 5+ rebounds in 10 straight and in 15 of 16.
  • Missouri State is averaging just 14.0 bench points per game during its three-game losing streak. The Bears averaged 29.7 points per game from their reserves in their first 7 games this season, which was tops in the MVC.
  • The Bears and Golden Eagles have a common opponent in Saint Mary's (Calif.). ORU lost in Moraga, 78-70, in the season opener Nov. 7, while the Bears lost to the Gaels, 66-46, on Dec. 7.
  • ORU starts the week at No. 94 in the KenPom team rankings. The Golden Eagles will mark the fourth top-100 team and the sixth top-150 squad MSU has played this season.
The Series
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series between the Bears and Golden Eagles, 10-9, in a regional rivalry that dates back to 1981. The Bears have won four of the last six meetings overall with a 7-2 home record against ORU and 3-7 record in Tulsa.
  • Three years ago at the Mabee Center (12/21/19), Oral Roberts got the hot hand late and scored 51 points in the second period to erase Missouri State's four-point halftime lead in an 82-72 decision. ORU got 22 points from Max Abmas and 19 points apiece from Deandre Burns and Kevin Obanor. Obanor snagged a game-high 12 rebounds with teammate Emmanuel Nzekwesi also pitching in a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. The Bears had five players score in double figures led by 14 points from Lamont West and 12 apiece from Gaige Prim, Tulio Da Silva and Isiaih Mosley. Josh Hall also pitched in 10 points and a team-high 6 rebounds for MSU, which was out-rebounded 41-28.
  • Last season in Springfield (12/11/21), Missouri State forced 16 turnovers, snagged 11 steals and got key defensive stops down the stretch to score a 69-60 win over visiting Oral Roberts. The Bears got a game-high 25 points from Mosley who was 10-for-20 from the field with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ja'Monta Black added 16 points with three 3-pointers, and Prim posted 10 points and 6 rebounds in limited minutes. After ORU trimmed Missouri State's double-figure lead to 42-41 with  9:06 to go, Black splashed home his third trey of the game to give the home side some separation. Mosley then reeled off six in a row for the Bears and then pushed his team ahead 56-48 with a pair of free throws with four minutes remaining.  | Box Score
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 76-57 (.571) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 45-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 24-28 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 133-122 (.522) in his ninth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 45-29 in Valley games (23-14 at home, 22-15 away). 
  • He is 2-1 against Oral Roberts (0-1 at Mabee Center).
  • He picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62) and coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State. His win over Oakland on Nov. 27 in The Bahamas was his 75th victory at MSU.
  • CollegeInsider.com recently named Ford one of the dozen "Coaching Names to Remember" for the 2021-22 season.
  • He picked up his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 at Illinois State (72-62) and coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State.
  • In a breakout 2021-22 campaign, Missouri State finished the season as one of the nation's most-efficient offensive teams, ranking 2nd nationally in free throw percentage (.797), 14th in field goal percentage (.482) and 23rd in 3-point FG percentage (.374) -- the only DI team to rank in the top 25 in all three. KenPom also rated the Bears 21st in effective FG percentage (54.6) and 23rd in adjusted offensive efficiency (113.2). MSU led the MVC in all of those metrics, except 3-point percentage, while also leading The Valley in scoring (77.3) and turnovers per game (10.6), which ranked 38th and 34th in the country, respectively.
  • Likewise, the 2021-22 Bears finished as runners-up in the Missouri Valley Conference, racking up a 23-11 overall record and 13-5 record in the league. The Bears' season win total was the program's most since 2011 and the 10th-best in team history. The squad advanced to the MVC Tournament semifinals for the third straight year and also represented The Valley in the NIT in Ford's first postseason tournament showing at MoState. The Bears also set team records for 3-point field goals (283) while boasting two first-team all-conference players in the school's all-time best scoring tandem – Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley -- while Donovan Clay earned MVC All-Defensive Team honors, and Isaac Haney landed on the MVC All-Freshman Team. Jaylen Minnett was also named to the MVC All-Bench squad.
  • For the third time in his head coaching career, Ford was a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
  • 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, 38, 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, 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).
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.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link
  • This year's Rebound Foundation game is vs. Murray State on Feb. 21.
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