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Missouri State

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Bears Travel to UNI for Mid-Week Valley Clash

February 05, 2024

By: MSU Athletics Communications
Game 24 - Missouri State Bears (14-9, 6-6 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (12-11, 6-6 MVC)
Date and Time Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location McLeod Center | Cedar Falls, Iowa
Tickets UNIPanthers.com | (319) 273-4849
Radio KWTO (FM 93.3 / AM 560) (Corey Riggs, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live |
The Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Brad Wells, Kevin Lehman) | Watch
Series Missouri State leads 46-41 | Last Meeting: UNI 64, MSU 62 (1/3/24) | Box Score
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Northern Iowa | MVC Weekly Release | MSU Media Guide
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Bears Mobile App App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Up Next Saturday, Feb. 10 vs. Indiana State (1 p.m.) - Hall of Fame Weekend | Tickets

The Ten Count
  • Missouri State takes its four-game Valley win streak into Cedar Falls on Wednesday when the Bears take on Northern Iowa in a key conference matchup (7 p.m./ESPN+). MoState is looking to pick up a fifth straight MVC victory for the first time since 2021, while seeking back-to-back wins at the McLeod Center for the first time ever. The Bears and Panthers enter the game with identical 6-6 conference records, one game behind Southern Illinois for fourth place.  
  • For the first time since Feb. 29-March 7, 2020, Missouri State is coming off its third consecutive game with 5 players scoring in double figures. In Saturday's win over Belmont, the Bears were led by Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.) with 23 points, along with Alston Mason (22), Donovan Clay (15), Cesare Edwards (10) and Damien Mayo Jr. (10). 
  • Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) needs 30 points to reach 1,000 at Missouri State (87 games). He would be the 32nd
    Bear to reach that milestone. Among all active DI players ranks 14th in career games played (150), 33rd in rebounds (827), 35th in blocks (157), 50th in FG% (.458) and 76th in total points (1,581). He has started 39 straight games. 
  • Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.) is this week's MVC Player of the Week after a 23-point, 13-rebound outburst in Saturday's win over Belmont for his third career double-double. He averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 77.8 percent from the field (14-of-18), 71.4 percent from three (5-of-7) and 75.0 percent at the line (3-of-4).
  • Cesare Edwards (Jr., Hartsville, S.C.) is coming off his 4th straight double-figure scoring game with 10 points and 8 rebounds against Belmont. Over the last 4 contests, he is averaging 12.5 points, a team-best 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. 
  • MoState standout Alston Mason (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) had another sensational week, averaging 17.5 points in two victories. He now ranks 3rd in the MVC and 76th nationally in scoring average (18.3). He also ranks 24th nationally and 1st in The Valley in minutes per game (35:51) and 5th in the MVC in 3-pointers per game (2.52) and 3-point FG% (.356).
  • Matthew Lee (Sr., San Juan, Puerto Rico) is 1 point from 700 for his career (103 games). He ranks 140th among active Division I players in career assists (315).
  • Damien Mayo Jr. (So., St. Louis, Mo.) has scored in double figures 3 straight games, averaging 10.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. He is also shooting an impressive 13-of-19 (.648) from the field in that span.
  • NJ Benson (So., Mt. Vernon, Ill.) ranks 35th nationally in blocks (42) and 48th in blocks per game (1.83), both of which rank 2nd in the MVC. Benson is 1st in the MVC in offensive rebounds per game (2.74) and is 3rd in double-doubles (4).
  • Raphe Ayres (Jr., Arlington, Va.) has recorded 4 or more rebounds in 11-of-21 appearances this season and boasts a .524 3-point FG percentage (11-of-21) in Valley games.
  • Saturday's 51-point second half vs. Belmont marked MSU's first 50-point half since Nov. 9, 2022 vs. Missouri S&T (51).
  • Missouri State's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in 4 straight games by a combined margin of 105-48.
  • During their current 4-game win streak, the Bears are averaging 81.8 points per game with a +10.0 rebound margin.

The Series
  • The Bears are 46-41 all-time against Northern Iowa in a series that dates back to 1983 when the clubs were charter members of the Mid-Continent Conference. MSU is 23-18 at home against the Panthers (21-21 in Cedar Falls (5-13 at McLeod), 3-12 at Great Southern Banke Arena), and 2-2 at neutral sites against the Panthers.
  • Earlier this season in Springfield (1/3/24), Missouri State got a career-high 25 points from Cesare Edwards as part of a season-best 38 bench points for the Bears, but Bowen Born's corner three-pointer with 96 seconds left in the game proved to be the difference maker in a tough 64-62 home loss to UNI. 
  • Born led the Panthers with 21 points, including 12 in the second half. He was 1-for-4 from beyond the arc prior to the game-winner, which put the visitors ahead 63-59.
  • Missouri State responded with a 3-pointer of its own from Alston Mason with 34.6 seconds left to make it a 63-62 game. Needing to give themselves enough time for a last possession, the Bears fouled Nate Heise with 12.9 ticks remaining. Heise made the front end, but missed the second, giving Missouri State a chance to tie or take the lead on the final possession.
  • After a key rebound from Donovan Clay, the Bears pushed the ball up for an open three from Nick Kramer from the left corner as the final horn sounded, but the potential game-winner caromed out. In his first game of extended time on the floor, Kramer finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and a 2-for-2 effort at the line in 19 minutes. Mason was also in double figures for the Bears with 12 points. | Box Score
  • See page 8 of game notes for complete series history.

Coach Dana Ford
  • Dana Ford (Illinois State, 2006) is 103-75 (.579) in his sixth season as Missouri State head coach, including a 60-23 (.723) ledger at Great Southern Bank Arena, 32-40 record in away games, and 11-12 mark at neutral sites. He is now 160-140 (.533) in his tenth season as a head coach, including four seasons at Tennessee State. Ford is also 62-42 (.596) in Valley games (33-19 at home, 29-23 away). He landed his 100th win at Missouri State on Jan. 24 vs. Drake.
  • Coach Ford is 2-9 vs. Northern Iowa (2-4 at UNI, 0-5 at Great Southern Bank Arena).
  • 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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