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Missouri State

Moore - 235u

MSU Men on the Road for Mid-Week Matchup at Murray

February 12, 2024

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 26 - Missouri State Bears (14-11, 6-8 MVC) at Murray State Racers (10-15, 7-7 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location CFSB Center (8,600) | Murray, Kentucky
Tickets TicketMaster.com | (270) 809-3000
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Dave Rowton, Scott Edgar) | Watch
Series Murray State leads 5-4 | Last Meeting:  MUR 77, MSU 53, (1/20/24) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Murray State | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
Follow Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite
Bears Mobile App App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next Saturday, Feb. 17 vs. Valparaiso (1 p.m.) - Rebound Foundation Game | Pledge Link | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State is back on the road Wednesday when the Bears travel to the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky., for a rematch against the Racers of Murray State. This will mark MSU's third straight week playing a mid-week road game and just the team's third visit ever to the CFSB Center. The series dates back to 1943, but this will be just the 10th meeting between the clubs and fourth meeting as Valley foes. The Racers lead the MVC in fewest turnovers per game (9.3).
  • Over the last 5 games, Damien Mayo Jr. (So., St. Louis, Mo.) has scored in double figures 4 times and is averaging 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in that span, while converting 19-of-30 (.633) field goals. In league play, Mayo is also converting 92.3 percent (12-of-13) from the free throw line. 
  • Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs just 18 points to reach 1,000 at Missouri State (89 games). He would be the 32nd Bear to reach that milestone. If he reaches 1,000 on Wednesday, he would also be the 24th-fastest Bear to reach 1,000. Among all active DI players, Clay ranks 14th in career games played (152), 33rd in rebounds (842), 35th in blocks (158), and 82nd in total points (1,593). He is one of 18 DI players to have 1,500 points and 800 rebounds and one of 34 players to have 1,500 points and 350 assists. Clay has also started 41 straight games. 
  • MoState standout Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) remains 3rd in the MVC and 63rd nationally in scoring average (18.7). He also ranks 25th nationally and 2nd in The Valley in minutes per game (35:58) and is 4th in the MVC in both 3-pointers per game (2.52) and 3-point FG% (.358). Mason, who turns 22 on Thursday, has scored in double figures in 10 straight games and in 21-of-23 appearances this season.
  • The Bears continue to be a dominant rebounding force, ranking 10th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.24), 40th in total rebounds (39.40) and 49th in rebound margin (+5.0), all of which lead the MVC. The Bears have out-rebounded 6 of their last 7 MVC foes.
  • Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, Puerto Rico) is averaging 9.5 points per game over the last 2 games, including a 10-point performance at UNI last Wednesday for his first double-figure scoring effort since Nov. 29. 
  • NJ Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) ranks 41st nationally in blocks (44) and 48th in blocks per game (1.76), both of which rank 2nd in the MVC. Benson is 1st in the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (2.72) and is 2nd in double-doubles (5). He is coming off 11 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in Saturday's near-upset of Indiana State.
  • Missouri State is 18-13 all-time on Valentine's Day, including a 1-0 ledger under coach Dana Ford.
  • Missouri State's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in 6 straight games by a combined margin of 145-65. MSU's 20.0 bench points per game last week was third-best in the league. Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) has come off the bench the last 6 games, is averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game in that span.
  • MSU has 121 blocks this season through 25 games, which ranks 37th nationally in blocks per game (4.84). The Bears are on pace to eclipse their season record for total blocks (140) and blocks per game (4.38), set last season.  
  • The Bears are 21-14 in MVC road games over the last 4 years and 29-24 on The Valley Road under coach Dana Ford (6 seasons), second only to Drake's 30 MVC road wins in that span. Murray State is 6-7 at home this season.
The Series
  • The Bears and Racers have played nine times with Murray State leading the series, 5-4, including four postseason games. 
  • The clubs met twice in the NAIA national playoffs with Murray State winning an opening-round game in 1943, and the Bears beating the Racers in the 1952 national championship game. Also in the postseason, Missouri State defeated Murray State, 89-76 in the first round of the NIT (3/15/11). The Racers avenged the loss in the second round of the 2014 CIT, defeating the Bears, 66-63, in Springfield (3/19/14).  
  • Last year in Murray (1/28/23), the Racers made 14-of-17 free throws in the second half and held off a late surge from the visiting Bears in a 74-71 decision at Racer Arena. The Bears were led by a (then) career-high 22 points from Alston Mason and 14 points from Donovan Clay, while Damien Mayo Jr. notched a career-high 13. Murray State got 17 points apiece from Rob Perry and Brian Moore Jr. The decisive swing came with a 9-0 run from the Racers that included four straight trips to the free throw line. After Clay's layup on a lob from Mason gave MoState a 55-53 lead at the 10:52 mark, the visitors went scoreless for nearly five minutes. 
  • Earlier this season in Springfield (1/20/24), Murray State blitzed the Bears, 77-53, with 19 points from JaCobi Wood, 18 from Quincy Anderson and 13 from Rob Perry to win their fourth in a row. The visitors shot 54 percent in the second half and 51 percent for the game while out-rebounding the Bears by a 39-35 margin. Missouri State got a team-high 17 points from Alston Mason who was 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while Chance Moore added a dozen points to go with his 5 rebounds. The Bears jumped out to an 8-2 lead before a 30-3 run over a nine-minute in the first half sealed MoState's fate as the Bears went 1-for-15 from the field. Box Score
  • See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.

Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 103-77 (.572) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 60-24 (.714) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 32-41 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 160-142 (.530) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 62-44 (.585) in the MVC (33-20 at home, 29-24 away). During Ford's tenure, only Drake (74) has won Valley games than MSU.
  • Coach Ford is 3-6 all-time against Murray State (2-3 while at MSU).
  • He picked up his 150th career win on Nov. 20, 2023 with the Bears' 87-69 win over Abilene Christian in the Virgin Islands and his 100th career victory on Feb. 7, 2021 with a Bears' win at Illinois State (72-62). He coached his 100th game at Missouri State on Dec. 15, 2021 vs. South Dakota State. His win over Oakland on Nov. 27, 2022 in The Bahamas was his 75th victory at MSU, while his OT victory at Drake on Jan. 18, 2023 was his 50th MVC win.
  • In 2022-23, the new-look Bears featured 14 new faces and ultimately turned the squad into Valley contenders. The Bears landed an All-MVC selection in second-teamer Donovan Clay and All-Bench Team honoree Chance Moore. Clay, who was also on the MVC All-Defensive Team, led the Bears in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (108) while becoming the first Bear since 2018-19 to reach the century mark in assists. Moore averaged 10.6 points per game and racked up 17 double-figure scoring games.
  • Ford's fifth season in Springfield concluded with a 12-8 conference record, making him the first sideline boss in program history to collect a dozen or more conference wins in three straight seasons. The Bears allowed just 63.2 points per game on the year, which ranked 24th nationally and was the club's best scoring defense in more than a decade. MSU also eclipsed its season record for blocked shots (140) -- a mark that had held for nearly a quarter century -- and ranked second in The Valley in rejections.
  • 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, 39, earned the Ben Jobe Award in 2016 as the nation's top Division I minority coach, a distinction he has been nominated for three times. 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 (Clippers) and Fred Van Vleet (Rockets).
  • Ford was recognized by 417 Magazine as one of its top 100 most-influential professionals in 2022 and 2023. He also serves on the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee. 
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 is Saturday, Feb. 17 vs. Valparaiso
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link
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