PointGuard

Spring Recruiting While the NCAA Tourney was in progress, we got word that SG Georgiy Zolkin from Russia had accepted a scholarship to play for us next season. That left one remaining scholarship in play. After the Tournament, we went right to work trying to corral a strong center since we will be losing Joey Brown a year early. Although we have some other centers we are focusing on, we decide to try to improve the interest of the 100th ranked recruit, C Collin Lostetter, by offering him a $2000 entertainment center. He is tempted by the offer and says it will factor into his decision. In mid-April, C Kelvin Ross accepts our final scholarship. Since C Joey Brown definitely will be a high draft pick, and likely will be a high pick, he agrees to accepting being cut to open a scholarship. We use that to make an offer to JC sophomore C Jules Grant. Since we are right near the end of the recruiting season, we attempt to cement the deal by offering him a $5000 bribe which he ready he agrees to and then he accepts our scholarship offer. Incoming Recruits: PG Troy Cox, 6-0 HS Sr, Fairbanks, AK, 2.9 GPA, 1020 SAT. 19.4 ppg, 7.8 apg, 7.4 rpg, 5.7 spg, 1.9 bpg. Excellent outside shooter and scorer, Great passer and very good ball handler, Outstanding defender, Strong rebounder, Quick hands yielding lots of steals, Tremendous work ethic, Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems. Ranked #17 in the nation. Overall rating: A. (Note: We’ve set aside $5,000 to fulfill our end of the bargain after he arrives on campus.) SF John Jones, 6-7 HS Sr, Oroville, CA, 2.4 GPA, 910 SAT. 19.0 ppg, 5.0 apg, 9.5 rpg, 3.7 spg, 3.9 bpg. Sweet outside shot, Excellent scorer, adroit passer, Strong rebounder, Solid defender, Very good at stealing and blocking, tremendous work ethic, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems, few problems with injuries, In the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #43. Overall rating: A. (Note: No bribe was offered to this recruit.) C Jules Grant, 6-11 JC So, Minneapolis, MN, 2.3 GPA. 17.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 11.7 rpg, 2.4 spg, 4.7 bpg. Strong scorer with excellent inside shooting skills as well as good outside shooting skills, excellent rebounder and shot blocker, strong defender, hard worker, great leader on and off the court. Ranked #47. Overall rating: A. (Note: We’ve set aside $5,000 to fulfill our end of the bargain after he arrives on campus.) SG Georgiy Zolkin, 6-0, Volgograd, Russia, 2.4 GPA, 1090 SAT. 17.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 4.2 rpg, 2.2 spg, 1.7 bpg. Very strong scorer with a great outside shot, hard working kid, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either, rarely missed a day of practice. 62nd ranked recruit. Overall rating: B. (Note: No bribe was offered to this recruit.) C Kelvin Ross, 6-10 HS Sr, Lakewood, WA, 2.2 GPA, 900 SAT. 18.1 ppg, 4.4 apg, 10.8 rpg, 1.6 spg, 3.9 bpg. Good scorer with an excellent inside shot, good passer, strong rebounder and shot blocker, tremendous work ethic doesn’t have many problems with injuries. Ranked #64 in nation. Overall rating: B. (Note: Two different bribes, the second better than the first, were offered to this recruit, but he disdained taking a bribe both times.) It’s a good strong recruiting class. No Top 10 players, but those players typically declare for the pro draft before finishing their college careers anyway.

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director Game #10, Dec. 28, 2018: Northern Iowa Panthers (7-3, 0-0) at Missouri State Bears (6-3, 0-0) We kick off MVC play with a game against a team that has performed very well in their pre-conference games. Northern Iowa is led by their stellar SG Edwin Walton who is averaging 15.9 ppg and is hitting over 50% of his FG attempts and also his 3’s. In addition, Kevin Stewart and his replacement at point guard, Ronnie Towns, are averaging a combined 13.9 ppg. Rounding out their perimeter game is the combination of Tarrell Holmes and Adam Bergmann who together are averaging 12.0 ppg at the SF position. Since this is a home game, it’s one the Bears need to salt away. And while the Panthers have a slightly better record than the Bears, our schedule has been tougher. Coach V seemed confident that his team was prepared to handle Northern Iowa tonight. Brent Gregory scorches the net with a 3 to open the game and while Edwin Walton comes right back with a field goal, we stretch our lead to 21-5 after 8 minutes of play. With 6 minutes left in the first half, we’d expanded our lead to 21 points. The half ends with the Bears leading 45-26. Coach V kept fresh legs on the court throughout the half and 10 of the 12 players who got into the game scored. Brent Gregory knocked down 9 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and stole the ball 3 times. Even though he was double-teamed, Edwin Walton scored 10 points for Northern Iowa. Our shooting cooled off in the 2nd half, but the team maintained its defensive intensity. We slowly increased our lead throughout the half and ran away with a lopsided victory. Complete dominance by the Bears: control of the boards to the tune of 37-23, outshooting the Panthers 49% to 33%, a 15-6 turnover advantage, 32-8 for points in the paint, 19-5 on 2nd chance points, and 22-4 on fast-break points. Final Score: Missouri State (7-3, 1st place tie)—78, Northern Iowa—46. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 3 steals; C Marquis Hollins-9 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 1 steal; PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 4 reb; SF Quinton Asbury-6 pts, 8 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 3 steals.

NCAA Tournament Round 1 8th seed Oregon State—73, 9th seed Central Florida—64 (Oregon State manhandled Central Florida throughout the first half, taking a 21 point lead before finishing the half with a 42-26 lead. The Knights struck back in the 2nd half and gradually trimmed the Beavers lead, but that gap was too great to overcome. SF Brent Gravitt led the Knights with 13 points, but Oregon State’s PF Scotty Henry lit up the board finishing with 24 points to send Central Florida packing.) Game #31 vs 15th seed Winthrop (17-13): Our defense was stellar in our tournament opener. We ran away to a 45-16 halftime lead. We coasted through the 2nd half enroute to a 68-44 beat down of Winthrop. SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 24 points. But C Joey Brown scored 21 and hauled down 12 rebounds. (29-2) Round 2 Game #32 vs 7th seed Georgia (16-14): We took control early and left the court at halftime up 46-34. We expanded our lead to 21 points in the 2nd half before finishing with an 80-64 win. 35 of Georgia’s 64 points were scored at the foul line, so our defense was the deciding factor as Georgia could only manage to drop in 33% of their FG attempts. SG Austin Hunter again had a big offensive game, scoring 22 points. C Joey Brown got his normal double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks popped in 17 points and PG Howie Tyler added 10 points. (30-2) Heading to the Sweet 16: While we had scored two decisive wins, our play hadn’t been anything more than should have been expected against the caliber of teams we faced in the first two rounds. Neither Ufuk Oztorun nor Adrian Bates had been able to step up to fill the shoes of injured PF Angelo Craft, so that was worrisome. On the other hand, SG Austin Hunter played strongly in both games. Before the tournament, there was concern that Joey Brown’s and Greg Brook’s decisions to declare for the pro draft might disturb our team chemistry, but both were playing as solidly as they had throughout the season and their teammates seem unaffected by their decisions. Our 6th man, Lamont Holiday played softly in both games, so there was hope that he would re-emerge as a big factor for our team as the tournament progressed. Round 3 (Sweet 16) Game #33 vs #3 seed and #18 ranked DePaul: The Blue Demons sport a 27-7 record. DePaul played tough in the 1st half, but we moved ahead late in the half to take a 41-34 halftime advantage. We came out of the locker room and destroyed the Blue Demons in the 2nd half. After building a 27 point lead, we settled for asolid 79-59 win. We held DePaul’s shooting to 32%. C Joey Brown dominated with 22 points and 9 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter scored 18 and grabbed 7 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists. PG Howie Tyler added 12 points. DePaul’s PF David Sylla scored 11 points and pulled down 10 boards. (31-2) Round 4 (Elite 8) Game #34 vs #4 seed and 20th ranked Stanford: In the Elite 8 we were matched up against a talented Stanford squad. But Stanford had advanced through the tourney thus far on an easy route, playing lower seeded teams in all 3 games. We played a great first half ending it up 45-26. But the 2nd half was part of a Jekyll and Hyde performance for us. We let the Cardinal back into the game and had to rally in the latter portions of the game to upend Stanford 79-69. We won the game based on a 35-23 rebounding advantage and our going to the line 13 more times where we scored 12 more points than Stanford. C Joey Brown led our effort with 21 points and 18 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 16 points and SG Austin Howard hit for 15 points. (32-2) Round 5 (Final 4) Game #35 vs #2 seed and 7th ranked Louisville: Not only is this a Semi-final game but it’s a big game for us since we are playing a regional rival. The Cardinals have a 29-7 record coming into this game. Louisville jumped out to a lead. We fought hard to get ahead but they held us off giving us a 39-31 deficit at the halftime break. The team stats were amazingly similar but the Cardinals held a slight shooting advantage and that was enough to keep us from closing the gap. We fell and fell hard to the tune of 75-64. C Joey Brown scored 18 and pulled down 10 rebounds in his final game in a Tigers uniform. SG Austin Hunter added 12 points. Louisville’s SG Henry Grannum scored 23 and the PG Billy Grant put in 17 points. A great season for us, but one in which we came up just a little short. (32-3) Damn, a disappointing loss, and losing to Louisville made it even tougher to take. But I guess the NCAA Selection Committee got our placing (a #2 seed) about right. Looking ahead to next year, with Joey Brown and Greg Brooks jumping ship, it’s going to be tough to equal what we did this year. NCAA Championship Louisville—66, Michigan State—59 Guess we can always say we only lost to the champs. Joey Brown averaged 19.2 ppg and 12.0 rpg and was selected to the All-Tourney team.

Player Stats after end of pre-conference play Scoring: Brent Gregory-14.2 ppg, Bart McCain-10.4 ppg, Quintin Asbury-5.9 ppg, Kenneth Grandison-5.8 ppg, Donte Hartfield-5.7 ppg, Ricky Lee-5.2 ppg Rebounding: Brent Gregory-4.1 rpg, Joey Jones-3.9 rpg, Donte Hartfield-3.8 rpg, Ricky Lee-3.7 rpg, Aaron Wells-3.0 rpg Assists: Brent Gregory-2.0 apg, Bart mcCain-1.6 apg, Aaron Wells-1.4 apg, Terrence Simmons-1.1 apg, Cleveland Brown-1.0 apg, Donte Hartfield-1.0 apg

Alexei Koramatsov, “entrepreneur” Bret Vandergard and I have been playing racquetball regularly. He’s a very good player, but not surprisingly, so am I. After our most recent game, I invited him to bring Meghan Kriley over to a football party at a local sports bar. He works all the time, but finally agreed to check with her. I was a bit surprised when they showed up, but happy to see them. I had brought Candy Marshall along and she was sitting next to me. She and I have had some very good times together, but she’s just one of many I spend time with. She’s pretty hot though and plenty stacked. Bret, being the gentleman that I am not, pulled out the chair next to me for Meghan to sit down, but she moved over to the chair opposite me and sat down. I think she caught my smirk when she did it. The woman is a fox but thinks she’s so good she’s above most everyone else. Anyways, we all enjoyed watching the Raiders upset the Broncos. I noticed Candy eyeing Bret, but that’s ok with me. Maybe even Miss High and Mighty noticed…heh!

NIT The AAC has 4 teams in the NIT: Temple Owls: 4th seed in South Region Cincinnati Bearcats: 7th seed in South Region Connecticut Huskies: 2nd seed in West Region SMU Mustangs: 3rd seed in West Region Round 1 Syracuse—74, Cincinnati—54 (Cincinnati had an early 9 point lead but fell behind midway through the 1st half and never regained their footing. C Jamaal Haskins led the Bearcats with 13 points, but SG A. J. Hahn scored 22 for Syracuse) Temple—81, Dartmouth—49 (The Owls sprinted ahead and never looked back as they continued to build their lead all the way to the end of the game. Temple outshot Dartmouth 52% to 30%. PG Jamaal Trent was high point man for Temple with 18 points, hitting all 7 of his FG attempts and all 4 of his FT attempts. C Andy Hampton scored 14 and grabbed 9 rebounds for Dartmouth) Connecticut—84, UNC Asheville-58 (UCONN took a 43-24 lead to the locker room and then expanded their lead in the 2nd half to bludgeon UNC Asheville. UCONN dropped in 52% of their FG attempts. SG Ron Crumble led the Huskies with 22 points. C Carlos Lane scored 17 for UNC Asheville) Bradley—61, SMU—59 (The game was close the entire way, but Bradley sported a 35-29 halftime advantage. SMU came back but lost the game in the final minute of play. SG Tim Pointers scored 12 points for SMU. SG Renard Layne had 11 points for the Braves.) Round 2 Temple—79, Tennessee Tech—62 (Temple played another strong game, taking the lead early and then ever giving it up. Temple hit 53% of their FG attempts. SG Anthony Smith led a quartet of double figure scorers for Temple with 11 points. C Ronald Williams scored 19 for Tennessee Tech) Connecticut—69, Bradley—51 (UCONN revenged SMU’s loss to Bradley. Neither team could break away in the first half. The game was tied at 36-36 at the half. But UCONN came out in the 2nd half and applied a withering defense to pull away for an easy victory. SG Ron Crumble continued his hot hand, scoring 23 points and C Terrance Broadnax had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) for UCONN. PF Brian Ward came off the bench to lead Bradley’s scoring with 10 points.) Round 3 Syracuse—60, Temple—57 (Temple handled Syracuse well in the first half and held a 27-21 lead at the break. But Syracuse gradually ground down the Owls in the 2nd half. The lead bounced back and forth, but in the final moments Syracuse was able to hold onto a small lead and eke out a victory. SF Freddie Williams was high point man for Temple with 17 points. But the player of the game was Syracuse C Chris Clark with 14 points and 10 rebounds.) Connecticut—88, UL Lafayette—72 (UCONN out-classed the Ragin’ Cajuns in this game. The Huskies rolled over UL Lafayette in the first half and led 51-22 at the intermission. UCONN bested the Ragin’ Cajuns in all team stats. PG Jabari Younger dropped in 20 points and dished out 7 rebounds for the Huskies. SF Steven Tucker scored 28 points and pulled down 10 boards for UL Lafayette. Round 4 Connecticut—68, Syracuse—49 (This game was all-Huskies. They opened the scoring and never trailed. Leading 38-21 at the half, they increased their lead in the 2nd half. PG Jabari Younger continued to have the hot hand, scoring 22. Syracuse’s SG A. J. Hahn matched his output with 22 points of his own.) Round 5—Championship Connecticut—67, Drexel-54 (The Huskies overwhelmed Drexel in the first half and led 42-25 at the break. Drexel made a couple runs in the 2nd half, but the Huskies were able to thwart those and maintain a safe lead to become NIT Champions. SG Ron Crumble led Connecticut with 19 points. After starting the season with a 7-13 record, Connecticut reeled off 14 wins in their final 15 games, losing only to us in the Conference Championship game. UCONN simply annihilated all opposition in the NIT and Huskies' SG Ron Crumble was the Tourney's MVP)

NCAA Tournament Selection Show 1st Seeds: Indiana, Duke, Georgia Tech, Oregon The AAC has 2 teams in the NCAA Tournament: #2 ranked Memphis (28-2): 2nd seed in the San Antonio Region playing 15th seed Winthrop (17-13) Central Florida (22-7): 9th seed in the Phoenix Region playing 8th seed Oregon State (18-11) Are we ready for the NCAA Tournament? Yes and no. Joey Brown is rock solid at center and justifiably was the MVP of the ACC Tournament, averaging 21 ppg and 15.3 rpg during the tournament. Our perimeter starters, Austin Hunter, Howie Tyler and Greg Brooks, are playing soundly and Lamont Holiday is filling in well at all 3 perimeter positions as our 6th man. But neither Ufuk Oztorun nor Adrian Bains has been able to fill the shoes of inured PF Angelo Craft, so that’s a weakness that is leaving us with a deficit and a position that our competitors could exploit. And beyond those 7 players, we have a shallow bench. Bottom line is that we are going to have to rely heavily on Joey Brown continuing to dominate inside and the rest of the team playing at the top of their game.

Preview: Brenda Blankenship, Go Bears Fan Club member Game #9, Dec. 21, 2018: Oregon State Beavers (7-4) at Missouri State Bears (5-3) This is the first game this season I’ve attended. I fell a while back and broke a couple ribs. Healing is slow when you get older. The ribs hurt like the devil but it’s slowly gotten better. I decided I finally needed to get out and wanted to see my Bears play. Sharon, my daughter, was dead set against me going. Eventually she realized that I was going to get to this game one way or another, so she said OK as long as she came along to help me. She wanted me to ride in a wheel chair and sit down handicapped area, but there’s no way I was going to do that. So she hung onto me as I hobbled up the stairs to our seats along with the other Fan Club members. Oregon State has played better than anticipated this season. Included in their resume is a win over #17 Illinois. Their perimeter players provide the bulk of their scoring. SF Quintin Asbury is familiar with their system since he played (and started) for them for 2 years before transferring here, so I wasn’t surprised to see him starting tonight. I’m hoping he has a burn in him to show his old team and coach up. It would also be nice to see Brent Gregory put up some big numbers like he did in the Bears last game, but I imagine the Beavers will be all over him. Sharon looks bored and stay so even when the game starts. She should have let me come alone. She’s playing with her phone rather than watching the game. The Bears take advantage of a couple steals and resultant fast breaks to take a 9-4 lead, but with 16:37 left in the half, PG Bart McCain picks up his 2nd foul. The Bears go on a run that increases their lead to 19-6 at the 13:51 mark. Our fans are roaring. Even that doesn’t get Sharon’s nose out of her phone’s screen. The Bears increase their lead to 20 with 5-1/2 minutes remaining until the break. The other members of the Go Bears Fan Club are saying I’m the one bringing the Bears their good luck tonight. The half mercifully ends for the Beavers since they trail 46-23. The Bears are controlling the boards 15-6, have a 14-6 turnover advantage, and outshoot the Beavs 59% to 44%. SF Quintin Asbury has risen to the occasion against his old team and leads our scoring with 10 points. During the half Bob Prescott, who is also a member of the Fan Club, sits down next to me and monopolizes my time during the break. He’s a nice guy. But I get the feeling he would like to take our relationship beyond both being in the Fan Club. I had a good marriage to my husband Steve, but he had a heart attack and we lost him a few years ago. I’m not looking for a replacement. Finally in the 2nd half I get Sharon to put her phone away and try to explain a little about the game to her. She listens and nods, but I know she won’t remember any of what I’m saying. The Bears shooting is cold in the early stages of the 2nd half. Our lead shrinks to 16 with 11 minutes to go. The Bears wake up at that point and quickly re-establish a 24 point lead. Even though Coach V substitutes freely, we run away with a sound thrashing of Oregon State. The Bears dominate all team stats including holding a 19-8 turnover advantage. Final Score: Missouri State (6-3)—78, Oregon State—53. Leading players for Missouri State: SF Quintin Asbury—19 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb; SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 5 assists, 3 reb, 2 steals; PF/SF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb; PF Ricky Lee-8 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: SF Quintin Asbury—19 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb. Our RPI is now 73rd best in the country.

End of Season Stats Here's the Memphis Tigers player stats for this season: And here's some team stats: Season 4 Memphis Tigers Team Stats (national ranking in parentheses) Stat.....Memphis.....Opponents PPG.....74.6 (4)......57.0 (33) APG.....15.3 (10).....11.0 (25) RPG .....36.1 (1)......27.3 (238) BPG......1.9 (64)......2.1 (342) SPG......8.7 (78)......5.1 (7) FG%.....42.3 (202)...38.8 (8) 3P%......37.8 (40)....33.9 (150) FT%......71.6 (217)...68.5 (14) TOPG....9.9 (2).......17.4 (28) Finally, here's the Top 10 teams in the Media Poll:

American Athletic Conference Tournament Day 1: #10 seed Tulsa—76, #7 seed Tulane—56 (Center Josh Slay scores 21 to lead Tulsa to a minor upset) #8 seed South Florida—67, #9 seed Houston—61 (SF Shannon Taylor scores 16 for South Florida and SG Aleem Murphy scores 18 for Houston) Day 2: #4 seed SMU—83, #5 seed—Temple—74 (SMU’s SF Dan Cummings, C Brandon Wallace and reserve PG Darrick Martin each score 15 points to offset Temple’s 4 players who score in double figures) #3 seed UCONN—66, #6 seed Cincinnati—52 (UCONN continues their strong 2nd half of the season comeback as PG Jabari Younger pours in 30 points for an easy victory. PF Lee Bain scores 16 and grabs 12 rebounds for Cincinnati.) #2 seed Central Florida—74, #10 seed Tulsa—57 (Central Florida continues to show how strong they are as they take apart Tulsa. C Teremun Younger scores 19 for Central Florida while SF Tyler Dean is Tulsa’s leading scorer with 15 points.) Game #28 vs #8 seed South Florida: We score first and never look back, roughing up the Bulls for a 47-22 halftime advantage. We continue to expand our lead andgive South Florida a 78-43 drubbing. C Joey Brown scores 20 and grabs 15 rebounds. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scores 11. Our replacement PF’s Ufuk Oztorun and Adrian Bains split playing time and both score 8 points. (26-2) Day 3: #3 seed UCONN—67, #2 seed Central Florida—63 (UCONN continues their winning ways building a 16 point lead and then gamely hanging on for a slim victory. UCONN’s win is primarily due to their 18-10 turnover advantage. PG Jabari Younger and PF Jared Braswell both score 14 for UCONN. SG Dave Marlow and PG Vincent Edwards both score 13 for Central Florida.) Game #29 vs #4 seed SMU: We draw away quickly to take a 41-24 lead to the locker room, then come back in the 2nd half to expand our lead to as much as 33, before settling for an 80-53 lopsided victory. C Joey Brown scores 18 and pulls down 13 boards plus gets 6 steals. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scores 21 points in his 20 minutes on the court. SG Austin Hunter adds 11 points. The PF combo of Ufuk Oztorun and Adrian Bains struggle, scoring a combined 10 points. (27-2) Day 4 (Championship Game): Game 30 vs #3 seed UCONN: The Huskies come into the game riding a 9 game win streak. UCONN destroys us in the first half, building an 18 point lead and coming out on top at the half 48-35. We gamely chip away at their lead in the 2nd half and finally pull ahead at the very end for a dramatic 72-69 victory to earn theconference championship. Both teams shoot under 40% for the game. We have one of our few negative turnover games, turning the ball over an uncharacteristic 16 times and only forcing 13 turnovers on the Huskies. But our rebounding advantage (37-28) plus getting to the line 50 times bails us out. C Joey Brown has an awesome game, scoring 25 and yanking down 18 rebounds to earn Tourney MVP honors. SF Adam Johnson comes off the bench to score 12 points. For UCONN, SG Ron Crumble crumbles our defense to score 27 points. (28-2)

Paris George, 3rd assistant coach Game #8, Dec. 14, 2018: Missouri State Bears (4-3) at Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4) The Nittany Lions have yet to impress this season since they’ve had mixed results against a rather weak schedule. They have balanced scoring throughout their lineup, but we’re going to focus on PG Matt Spencer who’s hit for the highest percentage of any of their players. Joey Jones will be starting again at center for us, but Aaron Wells returns to the starting lineup at SF. We need to get our offense in gear if we want a chance to win. We played consistently well throughout the first half and gradually built up a solid lead. Led by SG Brent Gregory’s 17 points, we led 41-25 at the halftime break. We hit 61% of our FG attempts and held a 15-8 rebounding advantage. We held onto a double digit lead throughout the 2nd half as we outplayed Penn State in all aspects of the game. Coach V gave more minutes to reserve C Marquis Hollins. Hollins played 19 solid minutes, scoring 6, pulling down 3 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists, and getting 2 steals and a block. While Marquis still has a lot to learn defensively, his size intimidates opponents inside, limiting shot attempts. Additionally tonight he only picked up 2 fouls. Final Score: Missouri State (5-3)—78, Penn State—67 Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-27 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-15 pts, 1 reb, 1 steal; SG Cleveland Brown-8 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-27 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb, 1 steal Award: SG Brent Gregory was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.

AAC Standings Here's the final standings in the American Athletic Conference for the 2016-2017 season:

Season 4, Games 25-27 Game #25 @ Cincinnati (13-11, 7-8): Even though we play inconsistently in the first half, we come away with a 33-26 halftime lead. Early in the 2nd half we build a 15 point lead before letting the Bearcats whittle away the lead a little but we win 70-61. PG Howie Tyler scores 21 points and SF Greg Brooks banks 20 points. C Joey Brown scores just 12 points but hauls down 17 rebounds. Our reserves have an unusually poor game, collectively scoring just 7 points. Cincinnati’s SF David Yeaton and SG Yannis Angelou both score 21 points. (23-2, 15-1, 1st place, ranked 2nd in the polls, our RPI is 3rd best in the country) Award: SF Greg Brooks is the AAC’s Freshman Player of the Week. Game #26, TULSA (8-17, 3-13): We quickly assert our dominance and then build a 43-21 advantage at the half. We hold off Tulsa in the 2nd half and roll to a 78-61 victory. C Joey Brown pours in 25 points and grabs 14 boards. PF Angelo Craft has a big game offensively with 19 points. The win assures us of an undisputed conference championship. (24-2, 16-1, 1st place) Game #27 @ SMU (15-11, 11-6): In our final regular season conference game, we take on the dangerous Mustangs from SMU on their home court. The game is close in the early going but by the half we lead 33-22. We go on to win with relative ease 61-48. SG Austin Hunter scores 18 to lead us offensively. PG Howie Tyler chips in 11 points. C Joey Brown’s on court time is limited due to foul troubles, but he scores 10 and picks off 7 rebounds. (25-2, 17-1, 1st place, ranked #2 in the country with the 2nd best RPI) Injury: Our win is dampened when PF Angelo Craft falls and breaks his hand. He’ll be out of action the rest of the season. We’re going to move freshman Ufuk Oztorun into the starting lineup but play junior Adrian Bains nearly as much time. Recruiting: We have rebuilt C Kevin Ross’ interest in our program to high, but still aren’t listed in his Top 10. Even though we are also pursuing a more highly rated JC center, we decide to offer Ross a scholarship since we prefer having a player for 4 rather than 2 years. Norton Award: C Joey Brown is named as a finalist for the Norton Award. Players declaring for the Pro Draft: We get a double barrel of bad news. Junior C Joey Brown and freshman SF Greg Brooks both declare for the draft. Fortunately we’ve recruited a strong SF but we need to refocus on finding the best possible center for next season. We are considering withdrawing the scholarship offer to Kevin Ross and going after a more highly rated JC center, but decide to think about it a while.

Marquis Hollins, Player Game #7, Dec. 6, 2018: Missouri State Bears (4-2) at Drexel Dragons (3-3) Joey Jones is starting at center in place of Donte Hartfield tonight. I think Coach looked more closely at the stats after I brought things up and saw that Joey is outplaying Donte. Now if he just gets me into the game more. I think we got a good chance tonight. The Dragons haven’t played that tough a schedule and have lost one game at home, so hopefully we can put another L on him in their gym tonight. Quintin Asbury is starting again at SF instead of Aaron Wells. Aaron has had a rough start this season after playing a couple strong years for the Bears. Wow, Coach put me into the game with 14 minutes to go in the 1st half. We were trailing 7-6 at that point. Drexel hit a quick bucket and then stole a pass that resulted in a 3 point play. Bart McCain then hit me with a nice pass down low along the left baseline and I was able to drive on my man to the slam down a dunk on which he fouled me. I made the free throw to cut the Dragons lead to 12-9. I got about 4 minutes on the court then returned to the bench to become a cheer leader. With just under 7 minutes to go, I nearly fell off my chair as Coach motioned me to head back into the game with us trailing 18-15. Damned refs called a touch foul against me 30 seconds later. I got the ball low in the post and put up a 6 footer that would have gone down if I hadn’t been fouled on the shot. I dropped in both shots to cut the lead to 20-19. The refs tagged me with another foul when I had to check the point guard outside. That sent me to the bench with 4-1/2 minutes left in the half. We went to the locker room down 39-30. But the real difference was that the refs sent the Dragons to the line 11 more times than we got there and they scored 10 more points on free throws. PF Ricky Lee topped our scoring with 6 points but I was right behind him with 5. The fouls continued to pile up against us in the 2nd half. Two of our big guys were called for their 3rd fouls early in the half, so I was brought back in with 17 minutes to go at which point we were trailing 45-36. I grabbed a rebound and put it back up and in a couple minutes later. I was called for my 3rd foul at the 13:30 mark. This foul was justified as I had to stop the Dragon’s center from being able to drive the basket. But that put me back on the bench. With several of our players being burdened with 4 fouls apiece, Coach put me back into the game with 7:40 remaining. But by that time Drexel had a 69-48 lead. I played until the 2:08 mark and we’d cut the Dragons’ lead to 75-57 at that point. We fired away from outside but missed them all from that point. For the game we had an 18 point deficit at the charity stripe. We also hit just 37% of our FG attempts. I think we need to work the ball more inside...get it to me for some easy buckets that will improve our shooting percentage. I got to play 16 minutes and score 7 points but just pulled down 2 rebounds. Not bad scoring, but I'd have had more boards if the Dragons hadn't teamed up against me and completely blocked me out from pulling down more rebounds. Final Score: Drexel—78, Missouri State (4-3)—57. Leading players for Missouri State: SF Aaron Wells-9 pts, 3 reb; PF Ricky Lee-8 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb. Player of the Game: Drexel’s C Brian Izzo-17 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb.

Marquis Hollins, Player Man, we’re in the middle of 4 straight road games. Sucks, man! I had hoped to be playing more, but I we have some good big men who have been playing here for a while so it’s hard breaking into the lineup. I’ve gotten into all 6 games, but am averaging under 4 minutes a game. That sucks also! The refs are making some tough calls against me also. So I think Coach V is too worried about me picking up fouls. But looking at my stats, they are pretty good if I were playing 40 minutes per game. I’d be averaging about 11 ppg, nearly 13 rpg, 5-1/2 apg, and 3-1/2 spg. I brought that up to Coach V hoping he’d take it into consideration and give me more minutes. They make the other big guy’s 40 mpg stats pale in comparison. I didn’t mention the 18 fouls per game I’d be committing if I played 40 minutes a game. But I think my size just draws the refs attention.

Buddy and Brenda Portman, Branson entertainers Game #6, Dec. 3, 2018: Missouri State Bears (3-2) at Saint Louis Billikens (3-3) A big bunch of us from Branson caravanned over to St. Louis for tonight’s game. We had a great Mexican dinner and several trips to margaritaville before the game. So while we’re definitely in the minority at tonight’s game, the Bears rooters are gonna be hootin’ and hollerin’. Brenda saw Meaghan Kriley in the crowd before the game and got together with her. Brenda’s interest in the Bears seems to have been supplanted by her efforts to move Meaghan and Coach Vandergard closer to the altar. Bret is much too slow movin’ for Brenda taste. But by the time the game gets started she’ll be back beside me adding her magnificent voice to our caterwauls. After winning their first 3 games this season, the Billikens have gone into a 3-game tailspin, as their offense has failed to ignite. The Bears jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, giving us plenty to holler about. The Saint Louis fans out-cheered us as the Billikens came back to tie the game at 10-10 with 16 minutes left in the half. Missouri State then went on a run to pull away to a 24-13 lead with about 9 minutes till the halftime break. St. Louis then climbed back into the game and just before the end of the half tied the game at 27-27. SG Brent Gregory led the Bears’ scoring with 9 points, but the Billikens counterpart, Emmett Morris dropped in 11 to lead all scorers. Buddy and his pals went outside for the half and must have downed some booze, because they came back and whooped and hollered louder than they did even in the first half. During the halftime break, I spent some more time with Meaghan trying to give her some tips on how to lasso a man. Well they all worked for me anyway. Meaghan's a smart woman, but too wrapped up in her work. The Billikens took a small lead early in the 2nd half, but Missouri State caught fire midway through the half to take a 43-36 lead with 10-1/2 minutes to go. Our group was going wild and got louder as the Bears took a 10 point advantage with 8 minutes on the clock. From that point on, the Bears seemed determined to bury the Billikens and steadily increased their lead. It was a big road win for Missouri State. The Bears outshot Saint Louis 54% to 35% and dominated the boards 34-20. Our group went out partyin’ after the game and got so drunk we all got hotel rooms in St. Louis to avoid killin’ ourselves by trying to drive back to Branson that night. Final Score: Missouri State (4-2)—72, Saint Louis—55. Leading players for Missouri State: PG Bart McCain-14 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals; SG Cleveland Brown-11 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb; PG Terrance Simmons-10 points, 1 assist, 2 reb, 2 steals; SG Brent Gregory-9 pts, 1 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal; C Donte Hartfield-7 pts, 2 assists, 7 reb, 3 steals, 1 block. Player of the Game: PG Bart McCain-14 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals. For the Billikens: SG Emmett Morris-20 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal.

Season 4, Games 21-24 :59Game #21, HOUSTON (8-12, 2-9): Looking at the Cougars dismal record and considering we beat them by 28 points on their court, this would look like a blow-out on our court. We struggled in the first half but finally pulled ahead to hold a slim 28-21 lead at the break. But in the 2nd half, our offense kicked into gear and our defense became formidable. We decimated the Cougars by a score of 75-38, outshooting Houston 50% to 29%, out-rebounding the Cougars 36-23, and holding a 19-10 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown scored 22 and grabbed 13 boards. PF Angelo Craft added 13 points and our subs got plenty of court time. For Houston, SF Travann McCuthison scored 18 but the rest of the team combined for just 20 points. (20-1, 12-0, 1st place, ranked #2, RPI: 3) Award: C Joey Brown was named AAC Player of the Week. Game #22 @ South Florida (5-16, 2-10): After whipping the Bulls on our court earlier, we continued our domination by grabbing the lead at the outset of this game and never letting South Florida come close. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, we led 44-24. Our lead ballooned to 30 in the 2nd half and we drubbed South Florida 79-54. SG Austin Hunter led our attack with 20 points and he grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and made 4 steals and 1 block. C Joey Brown hit for 16 points plus had 10 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler scored 11 plus had 6 assists. (21-1, 13-0, 1st place) Game #23 @ Central Florida (19-3, 11-2): So here we have it, our road game against the 2nd place Knights. The entire first half is close but we come out of it with a 30-29 lead at the half. The closeness continues throughout the 2nd half, but we have the coldest shooting night of our season, hitting just 21% of our FG attempts. That proves to be our undoing as we drop a closely contested game, 64-62 allowing Central Florida to creep within one game of our conference lead. Our 19 game win streak is broken. C Joey Brown scores 11 and pulls down 10 boards. SF Greg Brooks is our only other player scoring in double figures with 10 points. (21-2, 13-1, 1st place, Ranked #2 in the polls, RPI is 3rd highest in the nation) Award: SG Austin Hunter was named the AAC’s Player of the Week. Norton Award: C Joey Brown was named a semi-finalist for the Norton Award. Recruiting News: Following his visit to our campus that he felt was “awesome”, we offer a scholarship to the 62nd highest ranked recruit, SG Georgiy Zolkin from Volgograd, Russia. We considered trying to cement our offer with a generous bribe, but opted not to since he comes from a relatively wealthy family. We still have one scholarship still to offer but decide to hold it until spring. Since C Kelvin Ross remains our primary focus for a big man, we up our offer from $5000 to $10000 and he still refuses yet again. He’s possibly too straight an arrow to fit in with me, but we keep him on our list even though his interest level drops from high to medium after our latest bribe offer. Maybe by April, we can rebuild his interest. Game #24, TEMPLE (15-8, 8-6): We start off slowly but as the 1st half continues, we begin drawing away and take a 44-30 lead to the locker room. We don’t let the Owls back into the game and bank an 80-62 win. C Joey Brown leads our scoring with 17 points plus grabs 7 rebounds before fouling out of the game. SF Greg Brooks knocks down 15 points and SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday comes off the bench to score 10. SG Austin Hunter scores 8 but also had 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. UConn upsets Central Florida to re-establish our 2 game lead for the conference championship. (22-2, 14-1, 1st place)

Season 4, Game 17-20 Game #17 @ Tulsa (6-10, 3-4): We were poor guests in Tulsa as we immediately grabbed the lead and never relinquished it. By the break we led 41-26. We opened as much as a 26 point lead in the 2nd half and finished with a resounding 80-59 victory. We held a 37-20 rebounding advantage over the Green Wave. C Joey Brown got back to double-double land with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Four other players scored in double figures (SG Austin Hunter 12 points and PF Angelo Craft, PG Howie Tyler, and SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday scoring 10 each) with SF Greg Brooks and PF Adrian Bains just missing with 9 points each. (16-1, 8-0, 1st place, Ranked #3 in the polls and 3rd best RPI in the country) Game #18, SMU (10-7, 6-2): The first half ended with us ahead 36-25. We then expanded the lead in the 2nd half to as much as 25 points and came away with a 68-49 victory. The Mustangs outshot us (49% to 40%) but we overcame this by being able to take a lot more shots as we dominated the boards 31-21 and achieved a 26-8 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks dropped in 19 points. (17-1, 9-0, 1st place) Game #19, CONNECTICUT (7-11, 4-5): The Huskies are having a down year. We beat them by 12 on their court earlier this season. Tonight we totally embarrassed them by letting them score just 6 points in the first half. Yes, as hard as it is to imagine, we had a 35-6 halftime lead. We backed off in the 2nd half but still crushed the Huskies 58-38. Even though they scored 32 in the 2nd half, we still held their shooting to 25% for the game and out-rebounded UConn 52-28. Playing a deep bench, C Joey Brown still got a double-double (13 points and 13 rebounds) while SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday also achieved a double-double (10 points and 11 boards). (18-1, 10-0, 1st place, Ranked # 3 in the polls and our RPI is now 2nd best in the nation) Award: After not getting the award last week, C Joey Brown came back to win the AAC Player of the Week award. Award: SF Greg Brooks was named the AAC’s Freshman Player of the Week. Norton Award: C Joey Brown was named a quarter-finalist for this prestigious award. Recruiting News: We had to withdraw the scholarship offer to C James Childs since he scored just an 870 on his SAT’s and our minimum score is 880. It’s a bummer since he was ranked as the 35th best recruit in the nation and we were #1 on his Top 10 list. But c’est la vie. We refocused our sights on another HS senior center, Kelvin Ross who is the 64th highest ranked recruit in the country. His GPA is a poor 2.2, but he scored a 900 on his SAT’s to squeak by at meeting our minimum requirements. While his interest level in our school is high, we’re not on his Top 10. He comes from a lower-middle-class family, so we decide to see how a $5000 offer to hang with a celebrity would affect his interest level. He spurns our offer. We decide to keep him on our radar and see if we can wear him down and gradually build interest the coming spring. Game #20 @ Tulane (9-10, 6-4): Tulane has shown some toughness in the AAC and playing them on the road could present problems. They kick our butts in the first half and pull away to a 37-27 halftime advantage. That riled up our guys and they came back with a vengeance in the 2nd half. We dismantled their offense and opened a 16 point lead before settling for a 61-50 road win. While SG Austin Hunter had high-point honors with 17 points, C Joey Brown scored 15 and hauled in 16 rebounds. PF Angelo Craft scored just 7 points but pulled down 11 boards. As Tulane fortunes waned in the 2nd half, SF Andre Bennett tried to stem the tide by firing away from 3-point land, but he hit just 3 of 17 of his 3 point attempts for the Green Wave. (19-1, 11-0, 1st place)

Season 4 Games 13-16 Game #13, SOUTH FLORIDA (4-8, 1-2): Following some games in which we had dominated offensively, we put together a defensive gem against the Bulls. We made them earn their shots and pulled away for a 41-19 halftime lead. We continued in the 2nd half and won 67-37. C Joey Brown had another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 13 while SG Austin Hunter and PG Howie Tyler both had 11 points. (12-1, 4-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #6 in the polls with a RPI that is 5th best in the country.) Award: C Joey Brown again was named AAC Player of the Week. Game #14, CENTRAL FLORIDA (12-1, 4-0): This game pits two teams with exactly equal records. The Central Florida Knights have surprised everyone by how well they’ve played this season. After losing their season opener, they’ve reeled off 12 straight wins. All four of their conference games thus far have been lop-sided victories. We came out and used our home-court advantage to gain an immediate lead that we never relinquished as our defense sparkled. At the half, we had a 38-20 edge. Our final winning margin of 69-50 could well be turned around when we journey to their gym late this season. C Joey Brown knocked down 23 points and had 8 boards. SG Austin Hunter scored 11 points but also had 8 assists and 7 rebounds. (13-1, 5-0, 1st place) Game #15 @ Temple (10-4, 3-2): Against a tough team on their home court, we fought hard but the lead throughout the first half whip-sawed back and forth and we came out on the short end of a 45-43 halftime score. But we came out in the 2nd half with a fire in our eyes and built a 13 point lead. The Owls shaved away some of that lead but we escaped with an 81-75 win. PG Howie Tyler was razor-sharp from the field and scored 22 points. C Joey Brown scored 16 points and hauled down 18 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter added 12 points. Temple had 5 players scoring in double figures. We won this game by going to the line 54 times (where we scored 36 points) (the Temple fans were irate with the refs) and dominating the boards 42-22. (14-1, 6-0, 1st place, Ranked #4 in the polls while possessing the 3rd best RPI in Division I) Award: C Joey Brown continued to own the AAC Player of the Week award. Game #16, CINCINNATI (10-5, 4-2): Our offense was crisp in the 1st half and we ran away to a 50-27 halftime advantage. We cruised in the 2nd half but posted asolid 81-60 win. SG Austin Hunter scored 17 points but ran into foul trouble which severely limited his minutes. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday filled in for him and poured in 20 points as well as dishing out 6 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds. Cincinnati hounded C Joey Brown limiting him to just 6 points, but he made up for that by pulling down 18 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler added 12 points. For Cincinnati, SG Yannis Angelou scored 21 points to lead all scorers. (15-1, 7-0, 1st place)

Season 4, Games 9-12 Award: For the previous week C Joey Brown was named the National Player of the Week as well as the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Game #9, ARIZONA (5-5): We jumped out to an immediate lead and never relinquished it. By the end of the half we led 39-20 and there was no doubt about the ultimate outcome. Our defense was lock-down solid. We smothered them, allowing few easy shots. We eased off a bit in the 2nd half, but never let them back into the game, winning 71-50. C Joey Brown had a big double-double (17 points and 16 rebounds). SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 19 points. SF Greg Brooks nearly had a double-double, scoring 10 while hauling down 9 rebounds. PF Angelo Craft added 12 points. Not only did we out-shoot the Wildcats, but we held a 44-29 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over just 9 times compared to Arizona’s 15 turnovers. (8-1, Ranked 10th in the polls with an RPI that is 18th best in the nation.) Ready for Conference Play So the team finishes pre-conference play with an 8-1 record and is ranked #10 with an RPI that’s 18th best in the country. Player Stats: Scoring: C Joey Brown-18.2 ppg, SG Austin Hunter-13.0 ppg, PG Howie Tyler-9.3 ppg, SF Greg Brooks-8.8 ppg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-8.7 ppg, PF Angelo Craft-7.4 ppg, PF Adrian Bains-5.1 ppg. Rebounding: C Joey Brown-10.4 rpg, SF Greg Brooks-5.0 rpg, PG Howie Tyler-4.2 rpg, SG Austin Hunter-4.1 rpg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-3.6 rpg, PF Angelo Craft-3.6 rpg, SF Adam Johnson-3.3 rpg. Assists: PG Howie Tyler-3.6 apg, SG Austin Hunter-3.4 apg, C Joey Brown-2.7 apg, SF Greg Brooks-1.7 apg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-1.3 apg, SF Adam Johnson-1.1 apg. Game #10, @ Connecticut (3-6): UConn took held an early small lead, but midway through the first half, we asserted our dominance and built a 37-25 halftime lead even though both teams were hitting under 30% of their FG attempts. The refs called 35 fouls against the Huskies and sent us to the line 59 times where we dropped in 43 free throw attempts. Since we continued to shoot poorly from the field, those trips to the line saved our bacon. We won 77-65. C Joey Brown scored 45 points (hitting 25 of 35 FT’s) plus snagged 18 rebounds. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday dropped in 19 points. (9-1, 1-0, 1st place tie) Game #11, TULANE (4-6, 1-0): We roared out to a 52-29 halftime advantage. We then expanded our lead it he 2nd half and finished stomping the Green Wave 82-54. We controlled the boards to the tune of 36-22 and held a 22-9 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown had another big double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks poured in 19 points and SG Austin Hunter added 13. (10-1, 2-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #8 in the polls and our RPI now 10) Award: C Joey Brown was again named AAC Player of the Week. (Not all that surprising since he scored 65 points and pulled down 35 rebounds in the 2 games this past week) Game #12 @ Houston (6-5): We took control early in the 1st half and were in complete dominance by the end of the half, 55-31. We expanded our lead a little in the 2nd half and blitzed the Cougars 89-61. Our rebounding advantage was 36-19 and our turnover advantage was 23-11. Another big (and totally COMPLETE) game by C Joey Brown who scored 31 and pulled down 14 rebounds while dishing out 6 assists, getting 3 steals and 1 block (the guy has always been a force, now he's turning into a freakin' beast). PF Angelo Craft scored 17 and PG Howie Tyler dropped in 16 points. (11-1, 3-0, 1st place tie)

Emark wrote [as posted in the Wolverine Studios forums]: That Joey Brown, I tell you he's gonna bring your program down...dismiss him and move on Seriously, do you have many guys that create issues? BTW, Joey Brown is a men among boys it seems. These two guys get into it after a WIN...sheez! With this team I have not had many personality conflicts or guys who are on the extreme low end with respect to their relationship with the coach or teammates. Maybe the guys on this team are too busy spending their bribe money to get into it with each other. But in other dynasties, I've had problems...low relationship which sometimes has resulted in transfers, repeated incidents (particularly after losses).

Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach Game #5, Nov. 30, 2018: Missouri State Bears (3-1) at Ohio State Buckeyes (2-2) I got up to Buckeye territory early so I could make some contacts with high school coaches and others who might help us with recruiting in Ohio in the future. We’re taking on a big time program in our game tonight. One of the Buckeyes’ losses was to #1 Syracuse, but the rest of their schedule early this season has been soft. Following 4 straight NCAA Tourney appearances, the Buckeyes had a down year last season. I expect them to be fighting hard to win at home tonight and get their record above .500. Duany Braswell, their 6-7 SF, is averaging 19.9 ppg and 6.8 rpg. We need to keep him in check tonight. Coach V is starting Quinton Asbury at SF. Asbury is a better defender than Aaron Wells. But Braswell is a stud though, so if he ignites, it’s imperative we control the rest of the team. Kenneth Grandison is challenging Ricky Lee for the starting PF position, but while Grandison is a better scorer, Lee is a better rebounder, so Lee gets the nod again tonight. 7 minutes into the game we trail by 10 as we can’t get our offense untracked. The rest of the first half was even worse. By the end of the 1st half we had hit just 24% of our shots and trailed 47-22. SG Brent Gregory was our lone offensive light. He had 9 points. But the Buckeyes’ C R. R. Burmann scorched us with 16 points. We continued to have shooting woes in the 2nd half and fell behind by as much as 27 points before closing the gap slightly in the final minutes of the game. We were out-rebounded 38-27. Final Score: Ohio State—66, Missouri State (3-2)—50. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 4 reb; PG Bart McCain-11 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb. Player of the Game: Ohio State’s C R. T. Borman-22 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb, 1 steal.

Brad Thompson, sports reporter for The Standard, Missouri State University newspaper Game #4, Nov. 26, 2018: Mississippi Rebels (2-1) at Missouri State Bears (2-1) Last night the Bears hosted the University of Mississippi Rebels. Both team entered the fray with identical 2-1 records. Ole Miss PF Calvin Mueller came into the game averaging 17.7 ppg. The Rebels came out the blocks firing (and hitting) 3’s. With the Bears struggling to knock down their shots, that means they were playing catch-up the entire half. But poor shooting combined with too many fouls allowing the Rebels to score 16 points from the free throw line left the Bears in a 41-25 hole at the half. Donte Hartfield led the Bears in scoring with 7 points in the first half. The Bears nibbled away at the Rebels’ lead in the 2nd half. With 7 minutes to play they cut the deficit to 53-50. Two minutes later the difference was cut to a single point, but then the Rebels woke up and with 3 minute left they led 61-55. Missouri State pulled within 3 and had the ball with 1:34 left. Following a time out, McCain set a beautiful pick for Gregory. Winston Gebbers fought free but his desperate effort to get to the ball caught Gregory’s arm and sent him to the line. Gregory calmly sunk both free throws to make it 62-61 in favor of the Rebels with just 1:20 remaining. As the Bears played ferocious defense, the refs called a foul on Hartfield. Mississippi’s center Korey Humphrey hit both free throws. After a time out, McCain fed the ball outside to Grandison, but he was covered and couldn’t get the three away, so he cut around his defender and drove into the key for a 5 foot jumper that found the bottom of the net and again cut the Rebels’ lead to 64-63. The Rebels missed a shot, grabbed the rebound but then Rashad Thompson stole a pass and drove the length of the court for a driving dunk that put the Bears ahead 65-64 with 31 seconds on the clock. The Rebels worked the ball to Calvin Mueller at the top of the key. His shot was blocked by Kenneth Grandison who then grabbed the ball and fed it to Gregory who brought it into the forecourt. Gregory was fouled with 19 seconds to go. Gregory’s two free throws gave the Bears a 67-64 lead. The Rebels then missed a 3-point shot from the wing and Grandison rebounded. Gregory was again fouled. With 6 seconds remaining, he drilled two more free throws to ice the game and give Missouri State a huge come-back win. Explaining the difference between the two halves, Coach Vandergard summed it up in one word, “Defense”. He went on to say, “We allowed the Rebels to score just 23 points in the 2nd half. Our guys attacked, forcing turnovers and preventing the Rebels from getting free for easy shots. I was really proud of how our entire team stepped it up in the 2nd half and after a tough first half, just wouldn’t accept losing.” Asked about his big block near the end of the game, Kenneth Grandison responded, “I pride myself on my defense. And the coach put me in to try to contain the Rebels’ star player. It wasn’t a surprise that they worked the ball to Mueller, but I just fronted up against him and went up at the same time he did to tip the ball up and was fortunate it came down to me.” Final Score: Missouri State (3-1)—69, Mississippi—64. Leading players for Missouri State: C Donte Hartfield-11 points, 2 assists, 5 reb, 2 steals, 1 block; SF Quinton Asbury-13 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal; SG Brent Gregory-13 pts, 1 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: C Donte Hartfield-11 points, 2 assists, 5 reb, 2 steals, 1 block.

Preview: Season 4, Games 5-8 Game #5, OREGON ST. (1-4): It took us a while to get going, but midway through the first half we took control and by the break we had a 44-35 lead. Then we applied a strangling defense and pulled away for an easy 80-65 victory. Austin Hunter led our scoring with 18 points and C Joey Brown scored 15 plus grabbed 9 rebounds. PF Adrian Bains scored 12 and PG Howie Tyler added 10 while dishing out 6 assists. (4-1, Ranked #19 in the polls...What the heck? After beating the #2 and we drop down lower in the polls! Like Rodney Dangerfield...we don’t get no respect I tell you, no respect at all. RPI is now 37th highest in the country)Game #6 @ North Carolina State (2-3): The lead flip-flopped back and forth throughout the first half but we escaped with a slim 41-39 lead. The guys did their own psyching up during halftime and came out with a vengeance. They steadily pulled away and we won with ease, 81-63. All 5 of our starters scored in double figures. We were led by C Joey Brown who scored 14 but was a beast on the boards, hauling down 17 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 17 points plus handed out 6 assists. After scoring in double figures in his first 2 games, SF Greg Brooks scored just 12 points in the following 3 games, but came on big tonight with 16 points. PF Angelo Craft put in 12 points and PG Howie Tyler had 11 points. We held a 38-31 rebounding advantage and only turned the ball over 6 times (compared to the Wolfpack’s 15 turnovers). (5-1) Game #7, BRADLEY (3-3): We pulled away early and took a 52-29 lead to the locker room. We then coasted through the 2nd half in a 80-53 blowout victory. C Joey Brown tossed in 23 points while pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. SF Greg Brooks scored 15 and grabbed 9 boards. PF Angelo Craft added 11 points. Again we dominated the boards, 41-20 and held a 15-5 turnover advantage. (6-1, Ranked 14th in the polls with the 26th best RPI in the nation) Game #8, TENNESSEE (4-3): This is a bitter intra-state battle. We feel we have something to prove. We stomped the Volunteers 52-30 in the first half, but then had to hold off a hard charge by Tennessee in the 2nd half to achieve a 77-64 win. C Joey Brown dominated with 25 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals. Following a weak effort in our previous game, SG Austin Hunter tossed in 21 points. PG Howie Tyler scored 12 points. Again we held a big advantage in turnovers (18-7). (7-1, Ranked #12 in the polls and our RPI is 34th best in the country) [Team incident: Following the game, Jared Keady and Joey Brown got into it. I talked to both of them after the incident and both were apologetic and said they’d try harder in the future to avoid any similar situations.]

Preview: Jakes Varner, millworker, and Coot Corrigan, handyman Game #3, Nov. 23, 2018: Arizona State Sun Devils (0-2) at Missouri State Bears (1-1) CC: Damn, Jakes, these seats are way up in the corner! JV: Hey no complaining Coot. The damned university raised ticket prices this year. I’m not made of money, you know. This is the best I could afford. And anyways, I bought the damned tickets and you ain’t paying a red cent. CC: (Mutters, but doesn’t say anything) JV: I been wanting to see how these new guys play for the Bears. What do you think? They gonna make this team a big time winner? CC: Well, if we were a little closer, we could probably see and I could give you an answer. JV: Gotta like this schedule though. Better teams than usually come to Springfield MO. CC: Alright, enough blabbering, the games about to begin and I want to concentrate. * * * * * * * * * * JV: The Bears are taking it to the Sun Devils. We’re up 13-5 in less than 5 minutes of play. CC: Give it a rest! It’s still to early to notch up a victory. JV: Yeah, but McCain and Gregory already have 7 points between them. * * * * * * * * * * CC: Grandison came in at the 2 and played some strong minutes. I think he got 6 points during his 5 minutes on the court and played some strong defense as well. He forced the Arizona State guy to travel just then. JV: Well, Coach Vandy has got 4 subs on the court now, so we’ll see if they can maintain the Bears 11 point lead. CC: Yeah, Dutchy subs a little too much for me. They say Dutchy's some kind of genus. But these guys were starting for a reason, so let ‘em play.JV: Coot, your school drop out is showing. it ain't genus, dumby, it's genius. Genus is something to do with animals I think.CC: Uhh, I don't think animals have genuses, they have something else that rhymes with that. And the only reason you stayed in school longer than me was you were hoping that the girls would eventually realize you were around...and that didn't work out, did it!* * * * * * * * * * JV: The subs did OK…we’re up 28-15 after their time on the court. CC: A good portion of the points were put up by the lone starter, Ricky Lee. I think Ricky is feeling the heat of how well Grandison is playing so he’s working his ass off to keep his starting position. * * * * * * * * * * CC: The Sun Devils may be coming from a hot place, but it’s them that’s feeling the heat about now. They’re down 35-15 with 4:20 remaining in the half. That Grandison kid now has 11 points. JV: This Bears team is scoring well but they’re playing some helluva good defense too. * * * * * * * * * * JV: Hey, Arizona State his 4 straight 3’s right there at the end of the half. What was a 23 point lead is now a 45-31 halftime score. CC: Grandison and Gregory both scored 11 points in the half. And McCain added 7. JV: Brent Gregory also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. Looks like that first game where Vandy had him starting at the point made him go out and show how he’s really a better 2. CC: Hey, Jakes…those dance squad girls doing their halftime routine are too young for you. Let’s go out to the truck and down a few beers at the half. * * * * * * * * * * JV: It looked like the Sun Devils were going to make a game of this in the early goings of the 2nd half, but the Bears have jumped all over them. If the Bears could get some offense out of their 3 position, then the entire team would be looking good. CC: Looks like Dutchy felt the same way. Look, he’s got Gregory at the 3 now. * * * * * * * * * * CC: Gotta tip my hat to the Bears tonight. They played well the entire 40 minutes. Did you notice that Bart McCain played 29 minutes at the point and didn’t have one turover! JV: Arizona State was on their heels the entire game. They were so far behind they were forced to fire up 3’s. 30 of their 50 shots were lofted up from beyond the arc. But they only made 9 of those 30. CC: All the team stats favor the Bears: 51% to 40% in shooting, 35-30 in rebounds, and 21-10 in turnovers. Plus they led 38-14 for points in the paint, 16-8 for 2nd chance points, and 28-15 on fast break points. * * * * * * * * * * Final Score: Missouri State (2-1)—76, Arizona State—55. Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 4 assists, 9 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-15 pts, 4 assists, 2 reb, 2 steals; PF Kenneth Grandison-11 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-10 pts, 4 reb, 2 steals; C Joey Jones-7 pts, 9 reb, 1 block. Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-15 pts, 4 assists, 9 reb, 1 steal.