With St. Louis and its one-and-done portion of the season awaiting, Missouri State was able to muster a bit of much-needed momentum — and send a pair of seniors out as winners — on March 3 at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Rediscovering balanced scoring and sticky defense, the Bears bounced Illinois-Chicago 69-59. Matthew Lee and Cesare Edwards both scored 12, with Chance Moore adding 11 and Damien Mayo Jr. 10.
Missouri State (16-15 overall, 8-12 Missouri Valley Conference) will be the No. 9 seed and face eighth-seeded Murray State in the “Arch Madness” opener at noon Thursday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, host site for the Missouri Valley Tournament.
“The most important thing today was to play well for the seniors,” Missouri State coach Dana Ford said of Donovan Clay and Dawson Carper, who were honored before tipoff. “I feel like we did that for the most part. I was glad Dawson played a part in that. He’s had a nice run here. One of the best kids I’ve ever been around, as well as Donny.
“Sending those guys out with a win was really important.”
Coach Ford's future murky headed into postseason
Ford said he didn’t want to draw attention away from the players, Clay and Carper in particular, when he was asked about his job status during the post-game media availability. Ford has one season remaining on his contract, but Missouri State University president Clif Smart said in his Clif’s Notes blog Feb. 27 that an evaluation will be made after the season.
One year ago, with the Bears 16-14 headed to the league tourney, Ford already had been given a positive endorsement by MSU athletics director Kyle Moats.
“Here’s what I will say,” Ford began. “None of us are deserving of anything, yet we live a life where God gives us everything. This opportunity has been presented to me and it has been something that has been a great honor. To be the coach next year would be a great honor. To having one day said I was the coach of Missouri State would be a great honor.
“I’m just honored and blessed for whatever the future holds. But I think it takes away from the attention on our players right now, going into St. Louis and having a chance of winning the tournament. It takes away from Donny and Dawson today. I would rather just leave it at that.”
Let's talk about attendance at Bears games
Then, unprompted, Ford took a minute to address the lagging attendance at Bears home games this season. No attendance total was listed on the box score after the game, though it appeared about 2,000 were on hand in an arena that seats more than 11,000 people. The season home average entering the game was 2,953 — 9th among the 12 Valley teams and the lowest for a season in Missouri State’s Division I history.
Ford said the buck stops with him.
“It gets down to one thing. As a head coach you’ve got to have a consistent, winning product on the floor,” Ford said. “That’s how you get major attendance. There is no other way. It’s not right to fault anybody other than myself, if you’re going to blame anybody for the attendance.
“To be honest, it doesn’t make any sense to blame anybody other than myself. I just felt like saying that.”
The Bears gave the fans who showed up for the last time this season some reasons to cheer. They got to halftime with a 36-31 lead, with seven of the eight who played scoring, led by Damien Mayo Jr. with eight points. N.J. Benson came off the bench to get seven points and five rebounds in the half.
UIC scored the first seven of the second half to take the lead before Matthew Lee’s 3-pointer got the Bears going again. Lee kick-started a 10-0 run over the next three minutes for a 47-38 Missouri State lead.
The Flames rallied within two at the six-minute mark before the Bears responded with a 9-0 run to put it away, leading 65-56 after Cesare Edwards’ dunk with 3:37 remaining. Edwards had 12 of his points in the second half.
Mayo, appearing healthy after an extended bout with knee pain, finished with his first career double-double.
Bears defend downtown Springfield Sunday
Missouri State had lost six of its prior seven and surrendered 16 3-pointers by opponents in back-to-back games. UIC went 8-for-27 from long range and shot 35.7 percent overall.
“They do a good job of isolating you and just driving you and their five man shoots the three,” Ford said. “We knew it would be a one-on-one defensive battle and we did it without fouling, for the most part. You do have to grit your teeth. There was a time in the second half where we had to say, if you get driven and scored on, you have to come out.
“I think it only happened once after that. Definitely pleased. Anytime you hold someone to (35.7 percent) and get 50 rebounds, that’s a good effort.”
Clay had 12 rebounds as Missouri State whipped the Flames 50-30 on the boards.
Alston Mason avait sommeil à cause du voyage
Offensively, the Bears had much-improved balance after only four players scored in a one-point loss four days earlier at Illinois State. That was big as season scoring leader Alston Mason had an off day with just two points on 1-for-9 shooting.
Mason’s tough day could likely be explained by some jet lag. The junior guard was in Paris on Friday to walk in an international fashion show that his older brother, Alton, was a part of. Alton Mason, 25, was named in a GQ magazine article last year as the world’s only male supermodel.
While it’s unusual for a player to take a long trip during a basketball season, Ford said he understood that it was an opportunity that Alston Mason could not pass up. And the Bears were locked into the No. 9 seed in their conference tournament anyway.
“(Mason) got a nice opportunity to go and be a part of something with his brother,” Ford said. “That was nice for Alston and nice for his family. We’re happy for him in basically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I wish I had a brother as cool as he does.”
Mason and the Bears have a few days to rest up for what they hope is an extended run in St. Louis, where the longer you advance the more it becomes a matter of endurance.
“There should be zero pressure on us,” Ford said. “It’s hard to win three in three. It’s hard. You get to pick your hard. I think they feel like they get a new beginning. It’s something they have probably looked forward to for quite some time. I feel like they have something to draw from, in our early season tournament and having success in that. You’ve got guys that understand what it takes to be in a brighter light.
“We just have to take it one game at a time and see what happens. I do know that our guys are looking forward to it.”
Nothing left to do but run the table
Carper, finishing four seasons at Missouri State after one year at Hawaii, said the team is looking forward to the fresh start. He got to start his final home game and had an early dunk. The normally-mild-mannered Carper got into a tussle with a UIC player with less than a minute remaining as the two battled for the ball. Double technicals were assessed.
“We want to go into St. Louis with as much momentum as we can and getting a win was the best way to start that momentum,” Carper said. “I feel that we’re healthy now. Nobody’s sick now and our injuries are better and that helps, too.
“Four games in four days is a lot. Having everybody healthy and on the same page and playing together is probably the biggest thing in trying to win four games in four days.”
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