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Missouri State

Huddle Shot

Bears Start Two-Game Home Stand vs. Valpo

February 10, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 27 - Missouri State Bears (18-8, 9-4 MVC) vs. Valparaiso Beacons (11-13, 4-8 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022 | 3:06 p.m. (Central)
Location JQH Arena (11,000) | Springfield, Missouri
Tickets Tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena
Ticket Specials available in $5-10-15-20 levels
Promotions Hall of Fame Day | Super Hero Theme (Cape Giveaway)
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television MVC-TV Network (LIVE on Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports KC, Bally Sports Indiana,
NBC Sports Chicago. Bally Sports Streaming (ESPN3 outside of Valley states | Watch)
(John Rooney, Rich Zvosec)
Series Missouri State leads, 23-10 | Last Meeting: MSU 74, VU 57 (1/15/22) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Valparaiso |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Tuesday, Feb. 15 vs. Indiana State (7 p.m.) at JQH Arena | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Fresh off their fifth Valley road win of the season, Missouri State returns to JQH Arena Saturday to square off with Valparaiso at 3 p.m. (MVC TV Network). Coach Dana Ford's squad starts the upcoming two-game home stand in third place in the MVC standings, a game behind UNI and a half game behind Loyola.
  • After Wednesday's win at Drake, the Bears are up to 64th in the NCAA NET rankings and 57th in KenPom (as of Feb. 10), both of which are the second-best in the MVC behind Loyola (30, 33).
  • Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) has scored in double figures in 10 straight games and has posted 20 points in 4 consecutive contests. Over the last 4 games, he is averaging 21.8 points and 7.3 rebounds while firing at a .634 clip (33-of-52) from the field. His 21-point effort at Drake on Wednesday marked his 90th career double-figure scoring game.
  • Prim ranks 29th nationally in FG percentage (.580) and 24th in double-doubles (9), both of which lead The Valley. He also ranks 29th in the country in total rebounds (206), which is second in the league.
  • Former Valpo standout Donovan Clay (Jr., Alton, Ill.) will be making his second appearance against his former team on Saturday. On Jan. 15 at Valpo, Clay registered 5 points and a game-high 9 rebounds in the Bears' win. He is currently 6th in the MVC in rebounding (6.1), 9th in FG% (.528) and 5th in blocks (1.0). He racked up 611 points, 317 rebounds and 122 assists in 63 games over two seasons at Valpo (59 starts) with MVC All-Freshman Team honors in 2020.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) continues to lead the MVC in scoring (20.4 ppg), which ranks 14th in the country to start the weekend. His 531 points this season is 3rd among DI players, while he boasts a national-best 191 field goals. Mosley also ranks 7th nationally in FT percentage (.922) with 27 straight makes. He is coming off his 5th career double-double (and second in 5 games) in Wednesday's win at Drake with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
  • Ja'Monta Black (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) had a streak of 17 straight games with a 3-pointer snapped at Drake, but his 6 points in the final minute helped the Bears pick up their first season sweep of Drake since 2016. Black ranks 9th in program history in 3-pointers (143) and ranks 56th nationally in 3-point makes (62) this season.
  • The Bears are one of three NCAA teams, along with Syracuse and ETSU, to boast three players with 50 or more 3-pointers this season. Led by Ja'Monta Black (62), Isiaih Mosley (54), and Jaylen Minnett (54), the Bears rank 24th in the country in 3-point FG percentage (.378) and 25th nationally in total threes (224).  
  • Saturday's game against Valparaiso will be the 50th career Valley game for Missouri State players Isiaih Mosley (839 pts.), Gaige Prim (760 pts.), and Donovan Clay (478 pts.). It will be the 50th career game for Lu'Cye Patterson (240 pts.).
  • The Bears continue to be one of the NCAA's top offensive clubs, ranking 7th in the country in FT percentage (.789), 20th in FG percentage (.483) and 24th in 3-point percentage (.378). KenPom also ranks the Bears 26th in effective FG percentage (.548), 27th in offensive efficiency (112.7), and 26th in turnover percentage (15.6).
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) eclipsed 1,600 career points (135 games) in Wednesday's win at Drake and also topped 200 points for the fifth straight season. His 10-point effort marked his season-high against MVC opponents.
  • MSU is 17-1 this season and 58-10 under coach Dana Ford when the Bears shoot a higher FG percentage than their opponent. MoState is also 34-3 under Ford when they shoot 50 percent or better.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 67-48 (.583) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 40-16 ledger at JQH Arena, 22-24 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 124-113 (.523) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 40-27 in Valley games (20-13 at home, 20-14 away) and is 6-3 all-time against Valparaiso.
  • CollegeInsider.com recently named Ford one of the dozen "Coaching Names to Remember" for the 2021-22 season.
  • 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
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series with Valpo, 23-10, including an 8-5 mark at home and 2-3 ledger at JQH Arena. Last season, the Bears won all three meetings vs. the Beacons to give MSU its first season sweep in the series since 2017-18.
  • Earlier this season (Jan. 15), Missouri State rolled to a 74-57 road win with Isiaih Mosley scoring a game-hgih 32 points for the Bears, his third straight 30-point scoring effort. Gaige Prim added 10 points for MSU with Donovan Clay notching a game-high 9 rebounds.
    Valpo got 14 points from Ben Krikke and 9 from Sheldon Edwards in its fourth straight Valley defeat.
  • The Bears never trailed and held Valpo to just 40.7 percent shooting, while out-rebounding the home side by a 38-31 margin. On the offensive end, MSU committed just 7 turnovers and fired at a 46.8 percent clip.
  • In the first half, MSU took less than five minutes to build a 9-point lead and pushed ahead by double figures on back-to-back layups by Prim midway through the period. Lu'Cye Patterson helped dig MSU out of a 1-for-9 slump later in the opening stanza. | 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.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today!  Pledge Link

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