Who's Bret Vandergard and what's he done for us lately? [DDSCB3]

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Tournament

 

Drake is the #7 seed in the East Regional and will play #2 seed Arizona State

Wichita State is the #7 seed in the South Regional and will play #2 seed Wyoming

 

Round 1:

 

Drake vs Arizona State: Drake pulled out an upset victory in the 2nd half, winning 71-68 behind C Karel Porter’s 19 points.

 

Wichita State vs Wyoming: While the game was close throughout, Wyoming maintained control and won 77-67. Scott Tucker scored 26 points for Wichita State.

 

Round 2:

 

VCU vs Drake: VCU took a small edge late in the 1st half and held onto it until Drake made a rousing comeback in the latter part of the 2nd half. But Drake’s effort left them just a little short as they lost 73-71. PF Kevin Jackson dropped in 15 points for Drake.

 

Championship: Temple beat BYU 69-62.

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Tournament

 

Round 1:

 

Marquette vs Southern Illinois: The teams traded the lead back and forth in the first half, but Southern Illinois carved out a 37-31 halftime advantage and then managed to hold off Marquette for a 67-56 win. SG Brandon Penders scored 16 points for the Salukis. 

 

Round 2:

 

Southern Illinois vs Syracuse: Southern Illinois had an early lead but faded badly late in the 2nd half. Syracuse overwhelmed the Salukis 67-48. PG Shannon Preston was the top scorer for Southern Illinois with 14 points.

 

Championship: #10 seed Iowa ran off 6 upset victories and finished by beating Wisconsin 68-52 to be crowned champions.

[PointGuard 70]

End of the 2017-2018 Season

 

Awards:

SG Brent Gregory: 1st Team All-Conference in the Missouri Valley Conference

Head Coaching Jobs:

10 teams showed interest in Bret Vandergard, but he had no interest in leaving Missouri State.

Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach:

Since we had only one scholarship to offer and it was filled last autumn, we had no recruiting activity in the spring. Our lone scholarship was awarded to:

C Marquis Hollins, 7-1 HS Sr, Lexington, MO. 2.4 GPA (920 SAT). 12.3 ppg, 4.2 apg, 8.4 rpg, 1.8 spg, 2.6 bpg. Marquis has great inside shooting and is a strong rebounder, passer and shot blocker. He has a tremendous work ethic, doesn’t have many problems with injuries, and while he’s not a leader, he doesn’t cause problems either. Ranked #1388 in the nation with an Overall Rating of C. He was ranked higher early in the season, so hopefully he comes in stronger than he appears on paper and his work ethic results in rapid development. But it's likely he will take a year or two before he becomes a force inside for us.

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director:

Coach Vandergard made a pitch for improvements to facilities. But he failed 2 of his 3 goals (his team didn’t above .500 and our prestige slipped from 31 to 29 although MVC prestige increased from 38 to 39). Therefore there was no way that his request for a facilities upgrade could be approved.

[PointGuard 70]

2018-2019 Season

 

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director—An unexpected visit

Jerome Nevins, a frequent and generous contributor to Missouri State athletics, came by for a visit today. He prefers to remain in the shadows, making “anonymous” contributions and is not part of the fan club or alumni group. So when he parked himself in my office, I was surprised.

JN: Buzz, you know I don’t like to throw my weight around, but when you hired this young coach last year, you told me he’d quickly improve the basketball program. Well, the team didn’t get close to playing .500 ball and didn’t even get through the playoffs for a spot in the conference tournament. In fact their record wasn’t even as good as the previous year under that incompetent idiot Coach Lewis.
BM: You’re right about last season, Jerome. It was a disappointment. But he inherited most all the players he was able to put on the floor. 
JN: Possibly so, but you made him out to be the coming of the next messiah. That was the basis for the donation I made last year.
BM: We’re very appreciate of all of your donations and last year’s in particular, but you need to give Vandergard time. He did pick up some transfer players last year who are likely to boost the level of play now that they will be eligible this coming season. And he recruited a big guy last season.
JN: With respect to the transfers, maybe they will improve things, maybe they won’t. And that 7-1 guy he recruited looked pretty good last fall, but as the season went along his fortunes and his rep sunk like the Titanic. So, all I can say is, what’s Bret Vandergard done for Missouri State lately?
BM: Look, Jerome. I’m happy you expressed your concerns and I take them seriously. You can bet that Vandergard will be under my magnifying glass this season. If he doesn’t produce, I’ll have to admit I made a mistake and begin looking for someone who can turn things around. But like I said, let’s see how thing pan out this season before we rush to conclusions.
JN: I hear you, Buzz. I’ll crawl back into my hole. But I’m going to be watching this closely also. And I think I’ll just keep this year’s donation in my bank account. If he gets the team to kick butt this season, you’ll get it after the season is over. If they suck again, then you need to take the actions that will right this floundering ship.

Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach--Recruiting Plans

We have just 2 scholarships to fill this year. Last year we overindulged in the transfer pool, so we’re going to focus on recruiting high school seniors with as much promise as possible and stay clear of any transfer activity. The focus will be on perimeter players since we are well- inside and are losing none of them to graduation this coming year. We buy the Great Plains Report stocked and decide to attend the Houston Classic camp.

Mike Martin, 2nd Assistant Coach--Scholastics

Since 4 of our players have unimpressive GPA’s, we got tutors for them throughout the summer. 3 of the 4 improved their grades dramatically, but SF Quintin Asbury’s GPA remained firmly rooted at 2.2. We’ll keep him anchored to the study desk this fall.

Ansel Adamson, Missouri State Assistant Athletic Director—Pro Draft

Coach V came into the AD offices today ecstatic. SF Tim Whitaker, who was on Coach Vandergard’s old team, Eastern Washington, was the 51st player selected in the Pro Draft.

[PointGuard 70]

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Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach—Fall recruiting

 

We focused almost all of our recruiting attention within our region and on recruits in the 1, 2, and 3 positions. We developed interest in a number of players. Coach V’s home visits went well and we made scholarship offers initially to two very highly rated SG’s.

On September 18 we netted a big fish:

SG Ken Masiello, 6-2 HS Sr, Marysville, KS, 3.9 GPA. 20.9 ppg, 3.1 apg, 6.1 rpg, 2.3 spg, 1.8 bpg. Outstanding scorer with an excellent shot from outside, Great passer, Very strong rebounder and shot blocker. Hard working kid who’s not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either. Ranked #22 in the nation. Overall rating: A.

We got to #2 on the other SG’s list of Top 10 schools, but he chose Georgetown. We immediately offered a scholarship to a PG who we felt had some great skills. On on September 25 we got a verbal acceptance of our scholarship offer for:

PG Matt Lewis, 6-1 HS Sr, Peoria, IL, 2.9 GPA. 14.1 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.6 rpg, 2.3 spg, 0.0 bpg. Great outside shot and very good scorer, Excellent passer and very good ball handler, strong defender, adroit at making steals, very good athleticism. Tremendous work ethic. Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems. Has had some recurring injuries. Ranked #133 in the nation. Overall rating: C.

[PointGuard 70]

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Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director--Scheduling

 

Coach V wanted to beef up the pre-conference schedule this season. Based on Jerome Nevin’s visit and concerns (which, of course, I’ve not mentioned to Bret), I tried to talk him into a softer schedule to fatten the team’s record. But he was adamant. I had to work hard to do it, but when done, Coach V was pleased with the results:

@ Richmond
ST. BONAVENTURE
ARIZONA STATE
MISSISSIPPI
@ #21 Ohio State
@ Saint Louis
@ Drexel
@ Penn State
OREGON STATE

The schedule I arranged presents a challenge without being overly taxing.

[PointGuard 70]

Flash Borden, sports reporter for KSMO radio in Springfield

 

 

Hey sports fans. The new basketball season is set to begin. I spoke with Missouri State Coach Bret Vandergard and his assistant coaches. They’re excited by the depth of their team this year. Here’s how the lineup looks to be taking shape for the Missouri State Bears as the 2018-2019 season kicks off. But Coach Vandergard said the starting lineup is likely to remain a fluid situation during pre-conference play with those who produce and work best as a cohesive unit ending up as the regular starters.

At Point Guard:

It looks like Brent Gregory, who was last year’s starting shooting guard, will move over to start at point guard this season. His 6-5 height will be an advantage. Based on last season, he has a lot of fire power, but the test will be how well he is able to run the offense and dish out assists without turning the ball over too much. Gregory is a junior and last season averaged 14.6 ppg. Backing up Gregory, and possibly challenging for a starting role, will be 6-3 sophomore Bart McCain. He had to sit out last season after transferring from Wyoming where he had averaged 8.9 ppg as a freshman. In addition, 6-2 senior Terrance Simmons returns after starting 17 of the Bears 29 games last season and averaging 6.4 ppg and is likely to get some good minutes coming off the bench.

At shooting guard:

6-4 sophomore Cleveland Brown will start after sitting out last season due to his transfer from Montana where he had averaged 5.0 ppg as a freshman. Brown’s hold on a starter is tenuous. Should he falter, it’s likely Brent Gregory will return to start at the 2. Backing up Brown will be two walk-ons who both ran hot and cold last season. 6-1 senior Rudy Cage probably has a slight edge over 6-3 junior Rashad Thompson. Cage averaged 2.5 ppg while hitting 48% of his shots last year. Thompson also averaged 2.5 ppg last season.

At small forward:

6-7 senior Aaron Wells picks up where he left off last year. He started all of the Bears games and averaged 6.3 ppg and pulled down 4.1 rpg. Another transfer player, 6-5 junior Quinton Asbury may challenge Wells for the starting position before the year is out. Asbury has good quickness and leaping ability and averaged 14.7 ppg for Oregon State as a sophomore. There are also a number of guards and power forwards who are likely to get some minutes at the 3 position as well.

At power forward:

The power forward position is stacked with talent. It looks like 6-8 sophomore transfer Kenneth Grandison will move into the starting lineup. Grandison averaged 10.0 ppg as a freshman for Mount St. Mary. That means last year’s starting power forward, 6-6 sophomore Ricky Lee will come off the bench this season. Last year Lee averaged 8.7 ppg while hitting 55% of his shots. 6-6 sophomore Jimmy Woni will continue to get substantial minutes as he did last season when he averaged 4.8 ppg. 6-6 sophomore David Earl could move up the charts, although it's doubtful he will become a starter this season. Last year he scored 2.3 ppg in limited action. It’s very possible that all the power forwards, with the exception of Woni, could get some minutes at small forward also. Woni may fill in at center from time-to-time.

At center:

Last year Joey Jones and Donte Hartfield split time as starters and played about the same amount of time. 6-9 sophomore Hartfield apparently has garnered the edge at the beginning of this season. Hartfield averaged 6.2 ppg last year. That means 6-9 sophomore Joey Jones will begin the year by coming off the bench. Jones scored 8.2 ppg and out-rebounded Hartfield also, so things could change as the season progresses. To make things more interesting, the Bears have added 7-1 freshman Marquis Hollins and he seems ready to play and get some minutes even though he will need some seasoning.

[PointGuard 70]

Janice Conlan, sports anchor for KSPR TV in Springfield, MO

 

College basketball tips off this week and there is hope that the Missouri Valley Conference is more successful this year than last. 

 

Our local Missouri State Bears are the media pick to win the Missouri Valley Conference this season. The Bears bring back nearly the entire team from last year plus have 4 transfer players who will be eligible to begin their Bears careers this season and a big 7-1 freshman center. Coach Bret Vandergard has downplayed the media’s touting of the Bears as expected champs. Vandergard says that while he likes his team, there are too many new and unknown parts to be sure out the team will do.

 

The media feel that last year’s top dog, Southern Illinois will be the main challenge to the Bears taking top honors. The Salukis are strong up front, but will have inexperience at both guard positions. Picked to finish 3rd are the Northern Iowa Panthers with their potent SG Edwin Walton. Evansville has experience at all 5 positions and is picked to finish 4th. Rounding out the top 5 in the MVC, is Bradley who will again be led by SG Adam Ross. 

 

Drake had a strong season last year and has 3 good scorers returning, but lacks experience at two positions, so the media picks the Bulldogs to finish 6th. Loyola-Chicago is expected to finish 7th and has a strong interior. Indiana State will be led by center Jared Cox but their lack of experience at PG means they aren’t expected to do better than 8th in the MVC. Wichita State is expected to finish next to the bottom due to their lack of experience at the two guard positions. Even though Illinois State has the solid point guard John Gresham, the rest of their lineup is weak and then are picked to finish in the basement.

 

I’m one of the media who placed the Bears atop the Missouri Valley Conference. So...GO BEARS!

[PointGuard 70]

Buzz Moriarity, Missouri State Athletic Director

 

Game #1, Nov. 16, 2018: Missouri Valley Bears (0-0) at Richmond Spiders (0-0)

My wife has been wanting to get our kids to Washington DC, so we brought the entire family this week to the nation’s capital. While there, I drove down to Richmond to root on the Bears in their season opener. 

Richmond has had good teams in recent years but had a down year last season, finishing with a 12-16 record. Their top player looks to be incoming freshman SF Lamont Jessie. Word on the street is that he is better than scouting reports indicated last year and is a strong candidate for freshman player of the year in the A-10.

Those suffering from arachnophobia should not come to Richmond’s home games. The big red spider in the middle of the court could definitely give them nightmares.

The game starts slowly as both teams fight to control nervousness. We finally score first when Brent Gregory hits a 3 with 17 minutes to play in the first half. Strong defense allows us to open a small lead midway through the first half. Quinton Asbury comes off the bench and then ignites a rather moribund offense and we open a 20-11 lead with 4 minutes left in the half. We continue to apply a stingy defense and finish the half on top 27-14. We hold the Spiders’ shooting to an anemic 20%. PG Brent Gregory is our leading scorer with 8 points and Quinton Asbury adds 6.

We gradually open a 20-point lead In the 2nd half, but our play then becomes very sloppy and with 5 minutes to play, our lead has shrunk to 48-38. With 3 minutes to go we lead by just 5 points. At the 1:36 mark, the Spiders can two free throws to make it 50-48. Another foul at the 1 minute mark cuts out lead to 50-49. Then with 43 seconds remaining, Richmond hits an inside shot to put them on top for the first time other than their 6-5 lead early in the game. The Bears work the ball around deliberately trying to get a good shot, but turn it over and that’s the game. A disappointing loss as we throw away a 20 point lead in the final 10 minutes of the game. We outshot the Spiders 49% to 36% and out-rebounded them 29-28, but were -5 in turnovers (we turned the ball over 24 times) and scored 5 less points at the charity line. It will be a long flight home for the team.

Final Score: Richmond-51, Missouri State (0-1)-50.

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-11 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 2 steals (but 6 TO’s). No one else on the team scored more than 6 points.

Player of the Game: Richmond’s SG Dennis Whitworth-11 pts, 6 reb, 4 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Alexei Koramatsov, “entrepreneur”

 

Game #2, Nov. St. Bonaventure Bonnies (1-0) at Missouri State Bears (0-1)

 

The Bears go up against their 2^nd A-10 Conference foe tonight.  St. Bonaventure has been to the NIT Tournament the last 4 years and was in the NCAA Tournament the year before that.  In their first game this season, LeDarion Peterson scored 19 and Nick Dunn tossed in 16.

 

After the Bears’ disastrous 2^nd half in their season opener, the odds favor the Bonnies even though the Bears are playing at home.  I put down a big bet on the Bears, so Vandergard better get them playing better tonight.  He’s starting a rather strange lineup.  Usual starting SF Aaron Wells is starting at PG.  That’s probably because none of the PG’s were able to run the offense in the first game.  Brent Gregory shifts back to SG.  Quinton Asbury is starting at SF and Ricky Lee is the starting PF.  The only starter at the same position as game #1 is C Donte Hartfield.  Let’s hope this lineup clicks.

 

Ricky Lee picks up 2 fouls in the first 90 seconds of the game.  Vandergard shifts Hartfield to PF and brings in freshman C Marquis Hollins.  Hollins picks up 2 fouls after being on the floor 3 minutes.  After playing strong defensively in their first game, the Bears defense is porous and they drop behind 24-16 midway through the first half.  But with 6:50, the Bears tie it up 24-24 and then go ahead 27-24 on Bart McCain’s 3 with 6 minutes to go in the half (his 9^th point in 7 minutes of play off the bench).  The Bears continue to play well and lead 38-34 at the half dominating the boards 17-12.  PG Bart McCain scores 14 and SG Brent Gregory adds 10.

 

Vandergard does a good job of keeping fresh legs on the court in the 2^nd half and the Bears maintain a small lead throughout.  With 2:35 left to go, Brent Gregory buries two free throws to put them up 62-52.  It’s all over from there except for the shouting.  And I get a nice payday.

 

While generally satisfied with how the Bears played, I was not impressed.  Gregory had a hot night and played very well back at SG.  He seems much more comfortable at the 2 rather than the 1.  McCain scored well but didn’t run the offense effectively.  Grandison came off the bench and played well at PF.  But overall this group of players still has not jelled well as a team.  After a weak first 10 minutes defensively, the Bears’ defense picked up and was solid for the last 30 minutes of play, though.

 

Final Score: Missouri State (1-1)—64, St. Bonaventure—54.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals; PG Bart McCain-16 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb; PF Kenneth Grandison-11 pts, 2 reb, 1 block;

 

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Rob Porter, Sports Writer, Springfield News-Leader

 

BEARS PREPARE FOR TOUGH SCHEDULE

 

The next three weeks will be a big test for the Missouri State’s men’s basketball team. After starting the season by losing on the road and winning at home, their next two games are at home. But their opponents are from the Pac-12 (Arizona State) and SEC (Mississippi). Then the team goes on the road for four straight games including games against two Big-10 teams (Ohio State and Penn State) as well as perennially powerful Saint Louis which just a few years back made it to the Sweet 16. Their other road game will be against Drexel, which while not possessing the stature of the Bears’ other opponents, has strong together three straight winning seasons.

 

Coach Bret Vandergard said he and the team looked at this as a challenge. “It’s a great way for us to test ourselves in preparation for conference play and create the foundation for winning consistently in the conference,” said Vandergard. He added, “We knew as soon as this season’s schedule was finalized that this would be a tough period for our team, but I think they will be ready to handle it. It's not only important for us to build strong teamwork, but to develop a killer attitude so our players become intent upon getting a lead and then putting our opponents away to prevent comebacks.”

 

When asked about his unorthodox lineup for the last game in which Aaron Wells was moved from his usual small forward position to start at point guard, Vandergard replied, “We’re trying some things out. While that worked ok, I was pleased to see how Bart McCain came off the bench to take on the point guard duties and played so well with Brent Gregory.” The two guards combined to score 34 points in that game. Vandergard continued, “Overall team chemistry is very good this season even though we have several new players on our active roster. I think everyone realizes they will get their opportunities on the court. We’re going to play with a very deep bench this year. It’ll be my challenge to ride the hot hand on any given night.”

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

 

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.

 

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

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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!

[PointGuard 70]

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

[PointGuard 70]

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.

[PointGuard 70]

Alexei Koramatsov, “entrepreneur”

 

Game #11, Dec. 31, 2018: Missouri State Bears (7-3, 1-0) at Illinois State Redbirds (3-7, 0-1)

 

One of Illinois State’s 3 wins was over Utah, so they can be dangerous. Even though the Redbirds shoot well particularly from beyond the arc, their offense has sputtered. That’s because they are error-prone and turn the ball over nearly 19 times a game. In addition their foul-shooting is poor.

 

Surprisingly, while the Bears are favored, the spread is extremely close. I got together with Bret Vandergard for a beer a couple days before the game, and he let it slip that they plan to pressure the Redbirds to exploit their tendency to turn over the ball. With the spread like it is, this is a helluva opportunity and I’m betting heavily on the Bears to beat the spread.

 

If the weather were better I’d make the 6 hour drive up to Normal, Illinois to enjoy my expected windfall. But since it’s snowing and blustery, I decide to just listen to the game on the radio. Unfortunately ESPN2 isn’t carrying the game on TV.

 

Bret’s starting lineup is McCain at PG, Gregory at SG, Asbury at SF, Grandison at PF, and Jones at C. All but Jones are excellent defensively, a further indication that Bret plans to employ a solid defense against the Redbirds. Jones has been the Bears best rebounder so he should make up for Grandison’s less-than-stellar rebounding skills.

 

Illinois State scores the first 4 points of the game as the Bears turn the ball over twice. Not good. The Redbirds don’t make a turnover until the 15:25 mark of the first half. The Bears finally get their first lead at 7-6 with 13:25 left in the half. Defense predominates leading to both teams shooting poorly. Turnovers mount for both teams throughout the half. In the latter part of the half, the Bears finally begin hitting some shots and pull away for a 28-20 halftime advantage. Both teams turn the ball over 7 times in the first half, but the Bears hold a 41% to 38% shooting advantage and out-rebound the Redbirds 17-12. SF Quinton Asbury is the top scorer for the Bears with 5 points. 

 

As the refs continue their calls against the Bears in the 2nd half (like they were doing in the 1st half), Bret finally has had enough and gets tagged with a T at the 15:26 mark. That doesn’t happen to him much, so these hometown refs must really be bad. A minute later the Bears have 3 starters (McCain, Gregory and Asbury) on the bench with 3 fouls apiece and Illinois State has used this to build a 35-33 lead. With 9:17 to go, the refs tag the Bears with their 10th foul of the half. At this point they’ve only charged one foul against Illinois State. After trailing by 7, the Bears make a run and take a 54-52 lead with 4:40 left in the game. The refs immediately call another foul sending Illinois State again to the line allowing them to tie the game. The Bears turn the ball over 2 times in a row and together with a continuing parade to the foul line for the Redbirds, Illinois State goes ahead by 6. Brent Gregory cuts the lead to 4 with 32 seconds to play, but the Bears have to foul and Illinois State buries both shots to go up by 6. Missouri State hits a late shot but there’s not enough time to make up the difference.

 

That p***es me off! I’d like to kill those refs. A 12 point differential on free throws in favor of Illinois State was the difference this game. This is the first time I’ve lost money betting on Missouri State. Bret was unable to make good on his plan to burn the Redbirds with turnovers as they made just 13 (while the Bears had 15 turnovers). I’m not a happy man! I don’t like losing money, particularly big amounts of money. So what has Bret Vandergard done for ME recently? Not a damned thing. Bret doesn’t know it, but he owes me for his failure to get his team to perform as they should have. 

 

Final Score: Illinois State—66, Missouri State (7-4, 1-1, 2nd place tie)—62.

 

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-16 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Kenneth Grandison-8 pts, 1 reb.

 

Player of the Game: Illinois State’s C Vernon Harmon-10 pts, 5 assists, 4 reb, 5 steals, 1 block.

 

Others for Illinois State: PG John Gresham-17 pts, PF Brett Washington-13 pts.

[PointGuard 70]

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Erick McGadney, 1st Assistant Coach

 

Post-Game Incident: PF Jimmy Woni went off after the game complaining about not getting enough playing time and how he should be playing in place of Ricky Lee.
Coach V was quick to pull Woni aside and chew him out. Woni was unrepentant. Woni is now suspended for the next 2 games.

[PointGuard 70]

Meaghan Kriley

 

Against my better judgement I said “yes”.  To what you might ask.  Well, Bret asked me to join him for a weekend at Alexei Koramatsov’s condo in the Ozarks just over the state line in Arkansas.  I am co-anchor of the nightly news for KSMO TV in Springfield, so work weekdays and have weekends off.  We were to go down there on Saturday morning and return Sunday afternoon. 

 

So when Bret asked, I said “yes”, then kicked myself in the butt because it meant being around Alexei.  Alexei is a big talker but does have a good sense of humor.  He seems to be rolling in money and that’s part of my aversion since it’s hard to figure out where he gets it from.  He says he’s an entrepreneur and has owned and sold a lot of businesses, but he’s pretty vague on just what they were.  And then there’s his glances, smirks, and sly smiles toward me.  He does this when no one else is looking so I seem to be the only one who notices.  I also vividly remember his suggestive remarks while Bret and I were on his boat a while back.

 

Anyway, I had said I’d go and didn’t want to wreck what little time Bret gets away from his all-encompassing coaching duties.  So he and I drove down there early Saturday morning.  It was a nice drive and I think Bret enjoyed our conversation as much as did I. 

 

It turns out Alexei’s condo is up on the top of a small mountain in a remote area of Arkansas.  When we arrived the overly-sexy Candy Marshall and her generous Double-D’s came out to greet us, a bit too passionately with her greeting of Bret to my way of thinking.

 

Alexei was his usual self…an overly-indulgent host.  But actually the day went pretty well and both Bret and I were able to relax from what have been highly stressful jobs.  The expensive, but divine, Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon of which Alexei had a surprisingly big supply probably helped with the relaxation.  It also probably helped me foolishly offer to prepare dinner.  Alexei had some fresh scallops and butternut squash so I decided to make Scallops with Butternut Squash Caponata.  Alexei’s kitchen had all the necessary ingredients except pinenuts and capers.  I said, I could prepare it without those, but the others all said I should have everything that is part of the recipe. 

 

Bret offered to drive down the mountain to the nearest store.  There was no way of talking him out of it.  Then as he was heading for the door, Candy said she had forgotten to bring her makeup and would tag along with Bret to pick them up at a drugstore.  Sure!

 

So I continued my preparations for dinner while Alexei rattled on about nearly everything under the sun and kept refilling my wine glass.  He said he didn’t know much about cooking so wanted to watch what I was doing.  Then while I was busily preparing the ingredients for our salad, he came up behind me and ran his hands over my body.  While I said, “stop it”, I didn’t immediately physically stop him as I would normally have done had I not had so much wine.  But my mind finally cleared sufficiently to allow me to turn and abruptly push him away while forcefully telling him to leave me alone.  He laughed and said he wasn’t a rapist, but he knew I liked it…and besides “Bret owes me.”  All I could say was, “GET...OUT…OF THE KITCHEN…NOW!”  Giving me a wink he turned and went into the living room.  I was so nervous I almost couldn’t continue preparing the dinner, but remained in the kitchen where the knives were ready at hand. 

 

Bret and Candy returned about 30 minutes later and Bret was in a good mood, telling Alexei that the condo was so far out off the beaten path that it was more like a hide-out than a luxury condo.   He and Alexei kidded around so much that I’m sure Bret didn’t even notice that I was upset.  I finished preparing dinner and we ate, but I then said I wasn’t feeling well and thought I better head back home.  Alexei feigned empathy and said that it might be better just for me to get some sleep at the condo and return when I felt better in the morning.  I gave him a cold stare and was adamant about leaving.

 

Very few words came out of my mouth on my ride home with Bret.  He probably thought I really was sick.  I considered telling him about the incident, but was embarrassed that I had not stopped Alexei immediately and also worried that Bret might think I had misinterpreted or over-reacted.  So I just silently resolved to limit further interaction with Alexei and to never be placed in a position where I would be alone with him.

 

Not only is Alexei a slime ball around me, but there’s something fishy about him.  Is he involved in drugs?  Is he conducting online fraud and scams?  Well, hey!  I’m an investigative reporter.  So I have the wherewithal to unofficially investigate that low-life.