Game 12 - Missouri State Bears (4-7) vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (4-6)
Date and Time	Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 | 5:02 p.m. (Central)
Location	Great Southern Bank Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets	Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office
Promotions	Wear Maroon | Season Promos
Fan Info	Digital Game Program | Gates open at 4 p.m.
Radio	KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live Varsity App
Television	ESPN+ (Don West, Mike McClure) | Watch
Series	Missouri State leads 2-0 | Last Meeting: MSU 60, CMU 57 (11/17/08)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State | Central Michigan | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next	MSU Hosts Sam Houston on Thursday, Dec. 22 | 7 p.m. | Tickets

Accessibility
Missouri State University is committed to providing an accessible and supportive environment for those with disabilities. To request reasonable disability accommodations, contact the Deputy Compliance Officer at (417) 836-6755 or DeputyComplianceOfficer@MissouriState.edu. 

The Ten Count

• Missouri State begins a two-game home stand Sunday when the Bears welcome Central Michigan at 5 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena. MSU hosts two games this week before the holiday break, also entertaining Sam Houston on Thursday at "The Vault" to conclude the club's non-conference schedule.
• Four different Bears registered career highs in scoring in Friday's game at ORU. Jonathan Mogbo (Jr., West Palm Beach, Fla.) led MSU in scoring (14), rebounding (7) and assists (4) against the Golden Eagles, while Georgia transfer Dalen Ridgnal (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) posted a career-high 13 points. Likewise, Raphe Ayres (RSo., Arlington, Va.) and Damien Mayo Jr. (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) scored 10 and 9 points, respectively, against ORU to set career highs.
• The Bears rank 41st nationally and 3rd in the MVC in scoring defense (62.1 ppg). Oral Roberts' 80-point outburst against Missouri State on Friday marked the first time all season MSU has allowed more than 68 points in a game. It is the longest the Bears have gone in a season (11 games) without allowing 70 points since 1985-86.
• The countdown to 1,000 career points for Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) is currently at 22. Clay has scored 978 points in 108 games (including 63 games at Valparaiso). Clay is also sitting at 49 career double-figure scoring games (17 at Missouri State). 
• According to KenPom, Missouri State ranks 21st nationally in steal percentage (7.3), which measures the percentage of offensive possession that result in a turnover via steal. 
• Missouri State's 55 bench points at Oral Roberts on Friday evening matched the most points ever by MSU's reserves and set a club record for most bench points in a true road game. It matched the team record previously established vs. Valparaiso (3/7/20) at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis. The Bears rank 56th nationally -- and tops in the Missouri Valley -- in bench points per game (27.73).
• Donovan Clay has posted an assist in 12 straight games. He has led MSU in assists 6 times this season.
• The Bears nearly matched a club record at Oral Roberts for largest deficit overcome for victory. MSU fell behind 60-37 with 15:53 to go in Tulsa on Friday, but reeled off a 24-4 run over the next seven minutes to close its deficit to 64-61 with 9:15 remaining. The Bears tied the game twice from there, then captured a 75-73 lead on a layup by Damien Mayo Jr. with 1:34 left. But The Golden Eagles ultimately closed out the contest on a 7-2 run to capture an 80-77 decision. MSU's all-time record came vs. Southern Illinois at the MVC Tournament (3/6/05) after trailing by 23 points with 4:17 left in the first half before rolling to a 65-61 victory. 
• Missouri State has recorded 26 double-figure scoring games this season with 10 different players contributing to that total. Sophomores Chance Moore (7) and Alston Mason (6) lead the sleuth in games with 10 or more points. Likewise, 10 of MSU's 13 active players have been in the starting lineup at least once during the 2022-23 campaign.
• Friday's game at ORU marked the first time this season MSU's underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) eclipsed 30 combined points. Led by 10 points by Raphe Ayres and 9 points by Damien Mayo Jr., the younger Bears accounted for 34 points, compared to 43 points for the upperclassmen. Ayres turns 23 on Monday.

The Series

• Missouri State leads the all-time series between the Bears and Chippewas, 2-0, with the only two previous meetings coming in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09 as part of the old "BracketBusters" series.
• On 2/23/08 at Hammons Student Center, the Bears got 25 points from Dale Lamberth, while Deven Mitchell tallied 23 points (behind 11-of-11 free throws) and 7 rebounds to turn back Central Michigan, 90-76. MSU shot a remarkable 43 free throws in the game (off 31 Chippewa fouls) while firing at a .591 clip from the field.
• In the "return" game the following season (11/17/08), the Bears made five straight free throws in crunch time to steal a 60-57 road win at Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant. MSU finished 26-of-32 (.813) at the stripe with Spencer Laurie leading the charge with 15 points, while Chris Cooks and Cardell McFarland dumped in 14 apiece. Kyle Weems added 10 points for the visitors in his first career start. Jeremy Allen scored 20 for the Chippewas who committed 20 turnovers.

Coach Dana Ford

• Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 76-58 (.568) in his fifth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 45-18 ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 24-29 record in away games, and 7-11 mark at neutral sites. He is now 133-123 (.520) 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 0-0 vs. Central Michigan.
• 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.
• CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein listed Missouri State head coach Dana Ford among his "20 coaches on the rise entering the 2022-23 college basketball season."
• 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 Tuesday, Feb. 21 vs. Murray State