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Missouri State

Gaige Prim

Bears Return to JQH Arena for Senior Night Showdown vs. Bradley

February 21, 2022

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 30 - Missouri State Bears (20-9, 11-5 MVC) vs. Bradley Braves (16-12, 10-6 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Feb. 23, 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
$10 Lower-Level / $5 Upper-Level Ticket Specials
Promotions Senior Night | Student "Clear Your Account" Giveaway
Fan Info Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Don West, Corey Riggs) | Watch)
Series Missouri State leads, 42-25 | Last Meeting: MSU 71, BU 69 (1/5/22) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State  | Bradley |  MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Up Next Saturday, Feb. 26 at Evansville | 4:00 p.m. | ESPNU

The Ten Count
  • The Bears kick off the final week of the regular season Wednesday with a 7 p.m. Senior Night showdown against a gritty Bradley squad at JQH Arena. Missouri State (20-9, 11-5 MVC) is now a game behind league leaders Loyola and Northern Iowa in the Valley standings with two games to play.
  • During the team's Division I era (since 1982-83), the Bears are 33-6 on Senior Night, including an 8-5 mark at JQH Arena. Missouri State has won its last 2 Senior Night contests and is playing Bradley on senior night for the second straight season. Wednesday's Senior Night recognition begins at approximately 6:45 p.m.
  • Missouri State is 11-4 (.733) at JQH Arena this season and is gunning for a 12th home victory for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Bears have registered 51 consecutive home winning seasons, dating back to 1971-72 and encompassing three different home venues. MSU has won 10 or more home games in 5 of the last 6 years.
  • Missouri State continues to be one of the nation's top performing offenses, ranking in the top 20 in all three shooting categories -- 6th in FT% (.796), 18th in FG% (.482) and 18th in 3pt. FG% (.381). KenPom also ranks MSU 22nd in effective FG% (54.9) and 21st in offensive efficiency (113.8). The Bears lead the MVC and rank 44th nationally in scoring offense (77.2), while their 10.6 turnovers per game ranks 26th in the country.
  • Over the last 7 games, Gaige Prim (Sr., Aurora, Colo.) is averaging team-bests 22.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while converting 59.6 percent of his field goals (56-for-94), 60.0 percent of his 3-pointers (3-of-5), and 78.2 percent of his free throws (43-of-55) in that stretch. Prim has scored in double figures in 13 straight games and has scored 20 or more points 6 times in the last 7 contests. He averaged 28.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game last week.
  • Jaylen Minnett (Sr., Terre Haute, Ind.) has scored in double figures in 3 of the last 4 straight games and is averaging 13.3 points per game in that stretch, which is second only to Prim. He is 15-of-36 (.417) from 3-point range and averaging 25.5 minutes and 2.0 assists per game over that span.
  • Seniors Gaige Prim and Jaylen Minnett have combined for 3,274 points in 255 NCAA games. Prim has also racked up 825 rebounds and blocked 116 shots, while Minnett ranks 7th among active Division I players with 352 three-pointers.
  • MoState is just 20 3-pointers shy of a single-season program record. The Bears have converted 250 triples this season, which ranks 30th in the Division I ranks. Only the 2009-10 (252) and 2016-17 (270) Bears teams have made more.
  • Isiaih Mosley (Jr., Columbia, Mo.) is just 10 points away from catching Danny Moore for the squad's most points in a DI conference season. Moore scored 334 points (18.6 ppg) in 1996-97 (18g). Only 6 times in the DI era has a Bear eclipsed 300 points in a league season -- three times by Johnny Murdock and most recently by Dale Lamberth (2006-07).
  • Mosley's buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Bradley on Jan. 5 ignited an unforgettable 6-game stretch for the MSU junior in which he averaged 32.8 points per game and earned MVC Player of the Week honors three consecutive weeks.
  • The Bears have out-rebounded 6 of their last 7 opponents with a +6.4 rebound margin and 5-1 record when they collect more caroms with Prim (7.1 rpg) leading the charge during that stretch.
  • Lu'Cye Patterson (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) has scored in double figures in 5 of the last 7 contests (10.0 ppg). He scored a team-high 20 points in the first meeting vs. Bradley (Jan. 5) in Peoria.
Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 69-49 (.585) in his fourth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 42-16 ledger at JQH Arena, 22-25 record in away games, and 5-8 mark at neutral sites. He is now 126-114 (.525) in his eighth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is 42-28 in Valley games (22-13 at home, 20-15 away) and is 5-3 all-time against Bradley.
  • 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
  • The series between the Bears and Braves began when MSU joined The Valley for the 1990-91 season. Missouri State leads the rivalry, 42-25. The Bears are 25-6 all-time at home against the Braves, including an 11-3 mark at JQH Arena.
  • The Bears have won 3 in a row in the series, including a 71-69 win at Carver Arena on Jan. 5.
  • In that game, Isiaih Mosley's offensive rebound and 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted the Bears to a dramatic victory. The shot capped a gripping finish at Carver Arena that saw BU take the lead twice in the final 72 seconds after trailing by as many as 18 in the second half.
  • A 3-pointer by MSU's Ja'Monta Black with 49 seconds remaining – his fourth of the game – gave the Bears a 68-67 lead on the heels of Jayson Kent's layup for BU moments earlier. Kent got the ball again on Bradley's next possession and made two free throws with 24 ticks to play to put the Braves ahead by one.
  • But on the final possession of the night, Lu'Cye Patterson got deep into the lane for a driving layup off the glass only to see it carom off the rim. Gaige Prim got a hand on the rebound and directed the ball to Mosley who snagged it, created some space and let it fly from 23 feet, splashing it home as the final horn sounded. Patterson finished with a game-high and career-high 20 points for the Bears, while Black scored 17, and Mosley added 11. Bradley was led by Kent (18) and Malevy Leons (16). | 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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