WhoÂ’s Bret Vandergard and whatÂ’s he done for us lately?

[PointGuard]

Game #24, Feb. 15, 2019: Missouri State Bears (14-9, 8-6) at Wichita State Shockers (10-13, 5-9)

Missouri State’s men’s basketball team journeyed to Wichita last night to take on the Shockers. The Bears employed a withering defense in the first half, allowing the Shockers to his just 21% of their shots and forcing Wichita State to turn the ball over 9 times. Meanwhile the Bears hit 57% of their shots and dominated the boards 18-9. The result was a 39-13 lead for the Bears at the end of the first half. SG Brent Gregory and PF Kenneth Grandison paced the Bears with 9 points apiece in the first half.

The Bears maintained their distance through most of the 2nd half although the Shockers cut into their lead a little in the final minutes of the game. Missouri State soundly defeated Wichita State by outshooting and outrebounding the Shockers.

Final Score: Missouri State (15-9, 9-6, 2nd place tie)—67, Wichita State—51.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-20 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb; PG Terrence Simmons-11 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb; SF Aaron Wells-8 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-20 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb.

[Wayne23]

My money's on the Bears in the conference tournament!

[PointGuard]

Game #25, Feb. 18, 2019: Southern Illinois Salukis (17-7, 13-2) at Missouri State Bears (15-9, 9-6)

While he Salukis have locked up the conference championship, this remains a big game for us. We lost to Southern Illinois by 4 points on their home court earlier this season, but want to post a solid win tonight so that if we meet them in the conference tournament, we will have established a dominance.

The Salukis have a 9 game win streak which started with their 73-69 win over us. Southern Illinois has very balanced scoring throughout their lineup. They employ a sound 1-3-1 zone defense. Not having PG Bart McCain available due to injury makes beating that defense even more daunting.

Our guys cracked the Salukis’ vaunted defense, opened an early lead and held onto it throughout the half. We hit 57% of our shots and out-rebounded Southern Illinois 17-11 while building a 41-28 lead as the first half expired. SG Brent Gregory’s 9 points led our scoring.

Brent Gregory picked up his 3rd foul on the first possession of the 2nd half. The Salukis took advantage by cutting our lead to 44-41 with 15:51 to play. But we answered their challenge by scoring the next 7 points to open a 10 point lead. Then we expanded our lead to 15 with 10:43 left in the game. With 5:41 remaining we led by 20.

The efficiency that our team displayed was impressive…hitting 58% of our shots, knocking down 13 of 14 free throws, and dominating the boards 30-18. The only negative was that the Bears turned the ball over 21 times.

Final Score: Missouri State (16-9, 10-6, 2nd place tie)—75, Southern Illinois—60.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-13 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb; C Joey Jones-10 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb; SF Aaron Wells-10 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 4 steals; SF Quintin Asbury-9 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 2 steals.

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal.

For Southern Illinois: C Tyrone Taylor-19 pts.

[PointGuard]

Game #26, Feb. 19, 2019: Wofford Terriers (12-13) at Missouri State Bears (16-9)—Bracket Breaker Game

Tomorrow is a day off from school for Tommy, so I brought him to the game tonight. He knows and idolizes most of the players plus he thinks he brings good luck to his Uncle Bret. Bret got us some good seats not far behind the Bears bench.

This is a Bracket Buster game for the Bears. Bret says that even though the Terriers big men are scoring more that their perimeter players, that SF Charles Jones and SG Ike Wilson are hitting a high percentage of their shots, so they will try to keep them from igniting. The Bears starting PG Bart McCain is sitting out another game due to his injury.

The Bears scored the first 10 points of the game. Tommy was cheering wildly. But Wofford stormed back and cut the lead to 20-17 with 11 minutes left in the half. The Bears recovered, though, and left the court at the half with a 48-36 advantage. Top scorers were PF Ricky Lee and C Marquis Hollins who both had 7 points.

Bret’s team expanded their lead to 18 points in the 2nd half, only to see Wofford come within a single point with 2-1/2 minutes to play. The Bears got two straight steals followed by driving layups to pull ahead 70-65 with 55 seconds on the clock. The only points scored after that were two free throws by the Bears. The biggest difference in team stats was that Wofford turned the ball over 19 times to Missouri State’s 12 turnovers.

Final Score: Missouri State (17-9)—72, Wofford—65.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal; PG Terrance Simmons-11 pts, 2 assists; C Joey Jones-8 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb, 2 steals, 1 block; C Marquis Hollins-8 pts, 6 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SG Brent Gregory-14 pts, 4 reb, 1 steal.

[PointGuard]

My investigation into Alexei Koramatsov continues on its private course. Doing this on my own, without the backing of the TV station, makes things more difficult plus means I have to tread lightly to get myself in trouble with the station. I now am certain that he’s a gambler but am having trouble nailing down if it goes further than being a personal vice. The mere fact that he personally is into high stakes gambling worries me about his contact with Bret. But before I can say anything to Bret, I have to fully understand the scope of his gambling activity and have my information rock solid. Otherwise since he and Bret have become good friends, I fear that Bret might become defensive and be unwilling to accept what I have to say.

[PointGuard]

Game #27, Feb. 22, 2019: Missouri State Bears (17-9, 10-6) at Bradley Braves (11-15, 8-8)

Play-by-play excerpts:

Hey Bears fans, this is Tyson Rodero bringing you Missouri State basketball! Tonight the Bears take on a tough foe on the road. This is a big game for Missouri State since a win will give them sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference since Drake has already lost their game earlier today. While the Bears easily beat the Braves when playing in Springfield earlier this year, Bradley has been tough at home while the Bears have not done all that well when playing away.

Unfortunately the Bears’ starting PG, Bart McCain still is not 100%, but he is suited up tonight and may see limited time on the court even though he’s not in the starting lineup. But Bradley’s starting SG Adam Ross has been nursing a sore back. The Braves have him starting again though. Ross, along with PG Khalid Hawkins and reserve big man, Michael Whitworth are the mainstays of Bradley’s offense.
*****
Ouch! That foul was assessed against Ricky Lee, so not only does Bradley’s Nick Williams drop in the basket and go to the line with a 3-point chance, Lee goes to the bench with 2 fouls after just 3 minutes of play. Kenneth Grandison comes in to replace Lee. Williams toes the line but misses the shot so Bradley leads 9-6.
*****
Oh, Hawkins hits a his second 3 to put the Braves on top 15-6.
*****
Grandison hits a reverse layup. That’s 6 straight points for the Bears who cut Bradley’s lead to 15-12.
*****
Another foul against the Bears. Bart McCain returns to the court after missing 3 games. Let’s see if he can shake the rust off.
*****
That’s the 4th blocked shot by the Braves who quickly bring the ball up court and Whitworth makes them pay by putting in a 10 footer to make increase their lead to 28-17 with 8 minutes left in the first half.
*****
Another offensive rebound by Bradley. Mason puts the ball back up and scores making it 32-23.
*****
Another miss. The Bears shooting in the last 10 minutes has been atrocious. That taken together with their ineffectiveness on the boards and their propensity to turn over the ball makes it unsurprising that they trail by 13. Vandergard doesn’t seem to be able to put the right combination on the court.
*****
OK, the buzzer sounds ending the first half with the Bears behind by a 42-26 score. The Bears hit 39% of their shots, were a minus 8 in rebounds and had 10 turnovers. Kenneth Grandison and Brent Gregory topped the Bears’ scoring with 6 points each. Bradley’s Khalid Hawkins topped all scorers with 10 points.
*****
We’re nearly to the midway mark of the 2nd half, and with Simmons two free throws, the Bears finally cut the lead to 10 points, but they have yet to show an ability to make an extended run to get back into this game.
*****
Missouri State’s shooting woes continue. That miss makes them 0 for 11 on three point attempts.
*****
Gregory takes the pass and puts up a shot over his defender. It drops for 3 points to cut Bradley’s lead to 59-56 with 4 minutes left in the game.
*****
Hawkins sneaks inside and puts up a tough shot around Simmons. The shots drops and he’s fouled with 2:29 remaining. His free throw gives him 20 points and makes it 65-
*****
That’s it…game over. The Bears go down in defeat and stay tied for 2nd place. Not a lot of difference in team stats, but just enough of an edge for the Braves in most all categories to keep Missouri State from being able to pull out the win.

Final Score: Bradley—71, Missouri State (17-10, 10-7, 2nd place tie)—62.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-17 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist; PG Terrence Simmons-13 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb; PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: Bradley’s SG Adam Ross-16 pts, 4 assists, 6 reb, 2 steals, 3 blocks.

Also for Bradley: PG Khalid Hawkins-20 pts.

Post Game interview of Coach Bret Vandegard by Tyson Rodero:

TR: Tough loss tonight, Coach.
BV: Every loss is a tough one, but yeah, we had a chance to win this game but just couldn’t make a final push.
TR: Do you think that not having Bart McCain playing at the top of his game was the difference?
BV: Bart did OK, and Terrence (Simmons) came on strong at the point, so no, I don’t think that was the reason we lost. Our shooting was off. We need to hit more than 42% of our shots to have a chance.
TR: What did you think of Bradley’s guards?
BV: 36 points between the two of them speaks volumes. Gotta tip my hat to both of them. They fought all the way through the game.
TR: Your final game of the regular season is this Saturday at home against Indiana State. Think there’s any chance to take sole possession of 2nd place in the conference?
BV: Anything is possible. But let’s be realistic, both Drake and Northern Iowa have home games also. Plus our opponent, Indiana State, whipped our butts in our earlier game this season against them. So, the main thing is for us to focus on revenging that embarrassing defeat, then go to the conference tourney with the aim to knock off each opponent we take on to become tournament champs and get to the Big Dance.
TR: Thanks, Coach. We’re behind you on that one.

[PointGuard]

Game #28, Feb. 25, 2019: Indiana State Sycamores (12-14, 7-10) at Missouri State Bears (17-10, 10-7)

Whooo Hooo! It’s like a big party here at JQH Arena tonight. The university is putting on its version of Mardi Gras and its extended to the game tonight. We had plenty of drinks with dinner before coming to the game so the atmosphere here is just right for us. We brought some of cast and crew with us tonight, so we’re all whooping it up and probably making big asses of ourselves.

We’re hoping to see the Bears whip these guys from Indiana. Due to our performance schedule, getting to the conference tournament games will be difficult, so this may be the last game we see this season.

Alexei Koramatsov came by and said he could get in a bet for us, but we declined since we’re sort of buzzed.

Damn…4-1/2 minutes into the game and the Bears haven’t scored yet and trail 9-0. They better get at it soon or they’re gonna dampen the party atmosphere mighty fast. Twelve minutes into the half and the Sycamores have a 25-5 lead and the Bears have already turned the ball over 10 times. The first half ends with the Bears trailing 36-22. While they finally started scoring toward the end of the half, they just played horribly, allowing Indiana State to hit 58% of their shots and turning the ball over 12 times. Kenneth Grandison and Donte Hartfield led their scoring with 5 points apiece.

That was so bad, we went out to our car and downed a few more drinks during halftime.

Things don’t start any better in the 2nd half. With 15-1/2 minutes to play the Bears are down 49-24. With 8 minutes left, the Bears had only closed the score a little, trailing 57-39. This game was a downer the entire way and definitely took the air outta the party. A terrible home loss.

Final Score: Indiana State—69, Missouri State (17-11, 10-8, 3rd place tie)—50

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-10 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb, 2 steals; PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 1 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: Indiana State’s C Jared Cox-12 pts, 3 assists. 9 reb, 4 steals.

Others for Indiana State: SG Charles Stoa-18 pts.

Injury: PG Terrence Simmons went down hard toward the end of the game and sustained a concussion. Fortunately we have over a week off before our next game and he should be ready to play by that time.

[Wayne23]

Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine!

[PointGuard]

What’s up with the Missouri State Bears? They played like zombies in their last two games. They shot like they had no idea where the basket was located, failed to pound the boards, and turned the ball over like it was a hot potato. Coach Bret Vandergard seems to have no idea how to get this team firing on all cylinders. While there is no doubt the team is better than before he came, his vaunted prowess has been tarnished by his inability to get the team playing with any consistency. It’s time for the athletic department to start considering a replacement. This time find a coach who knows how to motivate his players!

[PointGuard]

Here's the Final Standings for the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2018-2019 season:



At first blush it looks pretty good. We tied for 3rd place!

But...those last two losses really hurt. While we tied for 3rd place, the MVC's tie breaker system put us at the bottom of the 4 teams that tied for 3rd place. That means we’re the 6th seed for the MVC Tournament.

And our RPI is now 5th best in the MVC. If we are to make the NCAA Tournament, I think we will HAVE to win the MVC Tourney.