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Missouri State

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Bears Back on the Valley Road Saturday at Belmont

February 22, 2024

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 29 - Missouri State Bears (15-13, 7-10 MVC) at Belmont Bruins (16-12 , 9-8 MVC)
Date and Time Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024 | 5:00 p.m. (Central)
Location Curb Event Center (5,000) | Nashville, Tenn
Tickets Tickets | (615) 460-2255
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Tom Ladd, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPNU (Clay Matvick, Kevin Lehman) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 2-1 | Last Meeting:  MSU 87, BU 80 (3/3/24) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Belmont | 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 Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Illinois State | 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Next Home Game: Sunday, March 3 vs. UIC | 1 p.m. (ESPN+) | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • After splitting a two-game home stand, Missouri State returns to the road Saturday (5 p.m./ESPNU) for a Valley matchup against Belmont in Nashville. The Bears are looking for their first-ever win at the Curb Event Center while chasing their fourth MVC road win of the campaign.
  • The cardiac Bears have erased a double-figure deficit for victory 6 times this season, including 4 times in conference play and once against Belmont on Feb. 3. Likewise, MoState has overcome a halftime deficit on 5 occasions this season, also including the previous meeting with Belmont. 
  • Since 2020-21, the Bears are 21-15 in Valley road games. Likewise, during Dana Ford's six seasons as head coach at Missouri State, the Bears have won 29 MVC road games, just behind Drake (31) for the league's most in that span. 
  • Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs just 5 points to reach 1,000 at Missouri State (92 games). He would be the 32nd Bear to reach that milestone and the 24th-fastest Bear to reach 1,000. Among all active DI players, Clay ranks 12th in games played (155), 37th in rebounds (849), 35th in blocks (158) and 84th in scoring (1,606). He is one of just 19 players with 1,600 points and 800 rebounds and one of 34 players with 1,500 points and 350 assists. 
  • Over the last 5 games, Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, PR) is averaging 14.8 points and 4.6 assists while converting 84.6 percent (22-of-26) at the FT line. He has started the last 3 contests and eclipsed his career high for season points (208) with his 14-point performance against Bradley on Wednesday.  
  • Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) logged a team-high 19 points in Wednesday's game against Bradley, dropping in 3 triples in the process. In 25 appearances this season, Mason has scored in double figures 22 times, scored 15 or more points 18 times, and posted 20 or more points 9 times. He ranks 3rd in the MVC and 78th nationally in scoring (18.1 ppg). Likewise, he has knocked down multiple 3-pointers 19 times. He is 15 points away from 800 in his career (74g).
  • The Bears rank 10th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (28.89), 44th in total rebounds (38.93) and 55th in rebound margin (+4.4), all of which lead the MVC. The Bears are 12-6 this season when matching or out-rebounding their foes, including the team's Feb. 3 win over Belmont in Springfield -- a 46-27 rebounding advantage for the Bears.
  • MSU is 93-15 under coach Dana Ford (14-3 this year) when it posts a higher FG percentage than its opponent. 
  • The Bears are 3 three-pointers away from 200 on the season, which would mark the club's 3rd straight season to reach that milestone, the 14th time in program history and the 7th time in the last 8 seasons.
  • Missouri State's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in 9 straight games by a combined margin of 186-88 (20.7 to 9.8). Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) has been the Bears' top reserve in that span, averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game with 6 double-figure scoring games.
  • With his 11 points and 11 rebounds against Bradley on Wednesday, N.J. Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) became the first Bear to record a double-double in back-to-back games since Isiaih Mosley (Feb. 22-26, 2022). Benson has 7 double-doubles this season (2nd in the MVC), including 3 of the last 4 games.
The Series
  • The Bears and Bruins have met just three times with last season marking Belmont's debut in the MVC.
  • The first-ever meeting between the teams was a 74-61 Bears loss in Nashville on (1/7/23). Donovan Clay posted 20 points for MoState, but the visiting Bears committed a season-high 17 turnovers and were unable to stop a hot-shooting Belmont squad. Cade Tyson led Belmont with 20 points behind three triples, while Ben Shepherd scored 17. An eight-and-a-half minute scoring drought for the midway through the second half was pivotal for the visitors. Chance Moore, who finished with 12 points, hit a 3-pointer with 15:10 to play to pull the Bears within 47-43 before the Bruins pushed ahead 61-47 eight minutes later. 
  • In the rematch in Springfield (2/8/23), the battle featured 10 lead changes in the second half before a dunk by MSU's Jonathan Mogbo with 8.9 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as the Bears held on for a 61-59 win. Donovan Clay racked up a game-high 18 points to lead MSU, while Kendle Moore tallied 15 points. Belmont got 14 points and three steals from Ben Sheppard with Cade Tyson contributing 12 points for the visitors.
  • Earlier this season at Great Southern Bank Arena (2/3/24), Missouri State got 23 points and 13 rebounds from Chance Moore to help lead the Bears to a thrilling 87-80 win. Moore teamed up with Alston Mason to spark a decisive 10-0 Bears' run late in the second half and lift them to a fourth straight win. The duo scored all 10 MoState points in the two-and-a-half minute stretch to erase a one-point deficit and give the Bears an 80-71 lead with 3:15 to go. Keishawn Davidson scored 22 for Belmont, while Malik Dia posted 20 points for Belmont. | Box Score
  • See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.

Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 104-79 (.568) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 61-25 (.709) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 32-42 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 161-144 (.528) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 63-46 (.578) in the MVC (34-21 at home, 29-25 away). Ford's 63 wins in Valley play are third to Drake (77) and Bradley (64) over his six seasons with the Bears.
  • Ford is 4-7 all-time against BU (2-1 as Bears' head coach) and 0-5 at Curb Center.
  • 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.
  • Pledge to assist the Rebound Challenge today! Pledge Link
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