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

[PointGuard]

Bret came over to my apartment after I got home from doing the nightly news at the TV station. I said, “Surprise to see you here!” He said, “Hey, I understand your being upset with me. After our argument, I sat up most of the night examining myself and trying to assess how I’ve been behaving. I finally decided that it was just with you that this has come out and it’s because I’ve been bothered by being unable to wrap my head around our relationship. The more I thought about it, though, the more it became obvious to me that I am driving you away and that I can’t lose you. With that he got down on one knee and proposed to me. I was in a state of shock and am not sure exactly what I said or did, but I finally got out the response, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

[PointGuard]

Game #18, Jan. 23, 2020: Indiana State Sycamores (8-9, 6-2) at Missouri State Bears (12-5, 7-1)

Brent Gregory returned to lineup after missing the past 2 games. While we didn’t come out of the gate scoring, we got things going during the last 15 minutes of the half and led the Sycamores by a score of 40-27 at the intermission. Then in the 2nd half our defense strengthened and we ran away for an easy win. Even though we’ve had turnover problems in many of our earlier games, tonight we had just 5 turnovers while forcing Indiana State to turn the ball over 21 times.

Final Score: Missouri State (13-5, 8-1, 1st place tie)—74, Indiana State—47.

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-21 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals; SG Kareem Masiello-13 pts, 1 assist; PG Bart McClain-11 pts, 1 assist, 2 steals; C Marquis Hollins-8 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal, 2 blocks.

Player of the Game: PG Brent Gregory-21 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb, 2 steals.

Injury Report: SG Kareem Masiello bruised his thigh. We sat him out in the 2nd half as a precautionary move, but he should be ready to play for our next game.

Game #19, Jan. 26, 2020: Missouri State Bears (13-5, 8-1) at Northern Iowa Panthers (6-12, 3-6)

Although our offense didn’t sparkle (our outside game wasn’t clicking), our defense did, particularly in the first half when we build a 33-23 lead. We held the Panthers shooting to 37% for the entire game and forced them to make 18 turnovers.

Final Score: Missouri State (14-5, 9-1, 1st place tie)—64, Northern Iowa-50.

Leading players for Missouri State: C Joey Jones-13 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals; PF Kenneth Grandison-11 pts, 3 reb; C Marquis Hollins-10 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb, 3 steals.

Player of the Game: C Joey Jones-13 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals.

[PointGuard]

Bret has been staying away from practices, even though I have the feeling he’d really like to be there. But the two of us have been discussing opponents and strategy.
Today he let me know that both of our recruits did well on their SAT’s. That was good news, although we weren’t very concerned about either of them. The good thing is that both will give us more depth this coming season. With only two players graduating (PG Brent Gregory and SF Quinton Asbury), I expect us to have a stronger team next year since we will have 3 starters returning, a transfer SF who is a stud, and the PG position well covered by Bart McCain and Matt Lewis. I’m sure Bret would have loved to see how far he could have taken this team.

[PointGuard]

Game #20, Jan. 30, 2020: Evansville Purple Aces (12-7, 5-5) at Missouri State Bears (14-5, 9-1)

PG Brent Gregory returns tonight after missing the past 2 games with an injury. The first half was a back-and-forth affair for most of the 20 minutes with 6 lead changes and 4 ties. But Evansville out-played us the final few minutes to take a 41-36 lead to the locker room. Evansville came onto the court in the 2nd half with a new confidence and gradually pulled away from us with dagger-like shooting. We didn’t have any answers and took an embarrassing home court loss.

Final Score: Evansville—87, Missouri State (14-6, 9-2, 2nd place)—71.

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-21 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal; C Marquis Hollins-10 pts, 3 assists, 2 reb, 3 steals: PF Kenneth Grandison-9 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb; SF Quinton Asbury-8 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: Evansville’s SG Jeremy Walker-22 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 3 steals (in addition, PG Mac Smith scored 21 and reserve guard James Jordan scored 17).

Game #21, Feb. 2, 2020: Missouri State Bears (14-6, 9-2) at Southern Illinois Salukis (15-7, 10-1)

This game would have been big no matter what, but if we want any chance for the conference title, we need to win on the road against a very tough Southern Illinois team. We just barely edged them on our home court earlier this season and they’ve won 8 straight games since then. They’ve got balanced scoring throughout their lineup so there’s no use trying to shut down any one guy.

We kept close to the Salukis in the first half, but still trailed 28-26 at the break. But the second half was a disaster and they ran away from us. We turned the ball over 20 times, but the refs put the Salukis on the line 20 more times that they did us and Southern Illinois scored 17 more points on free throws than us.

Final Score: Southern Illinois—69, Missouri State (14-7, 9-3, 2nd place)—55.

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-13 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb; SF Quinton Asbury-10 pts, 1 assist, 8 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; PF Kenneth Grandison-8 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb.

Player of the Game: SF Bryan Briggs-8 pts, 5 assists, 7 reb, 5 steals.

[PointGuard]

Bret doesn’t say anything, but I think he’s bothered by the basketball team losing two straight games. The home court loss was tough to take, but the loss to Southern Illinois was even worse since the Salukis have owned us for many years. We’ve only won 1 of the last 16 games we’ve played against Southern Illinois. I know that Bret was hoping to turn things around and begin evening the score. Maybe we will get another crack at them in the conference tournament.

[PointGuard]

Phew! We got the news just a few weeks ago that Bret and Meaghan were going to get married and we attended their wedding today. They wanted a small wedding and all the key family members could get to Springfield. It was a really nice wedding. Bret and Meaghan will wait until the summer (when school is out and TV news ratings aren’t important) to have a honeymoon trip.

[PointGuard]

Game #22, Feb. 6, 2020: Drake Bulldogs (9-12, 6-6) at Missouri State Bulldogs (14-7, 9-3)

The Bulldogs played us tough in the first half, with 8 lead changes and 7 ties, but we managed to take a 36-33 lead at the half. We came alive early in the 2nd half and opened a 19 point lead, but then let Drake come back and give us a scare at the end of the game. SG Kareem Masiello continued his 4-game slump, scoring just 2 points and virtually disappearing on court. We need to rebuild his confidence. It’s possible his injury was more severe than we were able to ascertain or than he reported, and altered the way he was playing.

Final Score: Missouri State (15-7, 10-3, 2nd place)—74, Drake—66.

Leading players for Missouri State: SF Quinton Asbury-19 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb, 3 steals; C Marquis Hollins-14 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals, 1 block; PG Brent Gregory-13 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 3 assists, 2 reb.

Player of the Game: SF Quinton Asbury-19 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb, 3 steals.

Game #23, Feb. 9, 2020: Missouri State Bears (15-7, 10-3) at Bradley Braves (3-19, 2-11)

We struggled in the first half and the game remained close the entire 20 minutes. At the break we were ahead, but just by 2 points at 34-32. We began pulling away in the 2nd half and eventually opened an 18 point lead. SG Kareem Masiello broke out of his slump with a big double-double.

After the game, we learned that Southern Illinois finally lost a game cutting their lead to 1 game with 4 conference games to play.

Final Score: Missouri State (16-7, 11-3, 2nd place)—70, Bradley—57.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Kareem Masiello-21 pts, 10 reb,2 steals, 2 blocks; PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 4 assists, 4 reb.

Player of the Game: SG Kareem Masiello-21 pts, 10 reb,2 steals, 2 blocks.

Game #24, Feb. 13, 2020: Wichita State Shockers (13-12, 8-6) at Missouri State Bears (16-7, 11-3)

Wichita State never had a lead in this contest. We put them in a 40-23 halftime hole. Even though our bench played a lot of minutes, we continued to increase our lead almost up to the final buzzer. We held an advantage in almost all statistical categories, but the biggest factor was our 23-9 differential in turnovers.

Final Score: Missouri State (17-7, 12-3, 2nd place)—71, Wichita State—44.

Leading players for Missouri State: C Marquis Hollins-13 pts, 7 reb, 2 steals; SF Quinton Asbury-11 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 3 steals; PG Brent Gregory-11 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal; PF Ricky Lee-9 pts, 3 assists, 3 reb, 3 steals.

Player of the Game: C Marquis Hollins-13 pts, 7 reb, 2 steals.

Game #25, Feb. 16, 2020: Missouri State Bears (17-7, 12-3) at Loyola-Chicago Ramblers (16-8, 11-4)

The Ramblers have had a great year. They’re 10-0 when playing on their own court. A loss tonight would drop us into a tie with them for 2nd place in the MVC and put us 2 games behind Southern Illinois.

Coach McGadney pulled Kareem Masiello out of the game after just 2 minutes of play after he pushed a player on the Ramblers and gave McGadney lip. Masiello sat on the far end of the bench the rest of the game. This was a close game the entire way with 13 lead changes and 7 ties. The Ramblers came out of the 1st half with a 36-32 lead. But we battled back in the 2nd half and regulation play ended with the score tied 74-74. OT was just as close, but with time running out, the Ramblers PG Mack Nelson go through our full-court press and tossed up a prayer from half court that hit the backboard and caromed into the net.

Want to know how close this game was? We hit 25 of 57 FG’s, the Ramblers 24 of 54. We dropped in 26 of 33 FT’s, the Ramblers had 26 of 32. Both teams had 30 rebounds. We got called for 23 fouls, the Ramblers 24. We turned the ball over 17 times, the Ramblers 18. The only difference in the game was that we hit 4 of 17 three-pointers, while the Ramblers hit 9 of 25.

Final Score: Loyola-Chicago—83, Missouri State (17-8, 12-4, 2nd place tie)—80 (OT).

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-19 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb; SF Quinton Asbury-11 pts, 7 reb, 2 steals; PF Ricky Lee-10 pts, 6 reb, 1 steal; C Marquis Hollins-8 pts, 3 assists, 4 reb, 1 steal; C Joey Jones-8 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-8 pts, 5 assists, 2 reb, 3 steals.

Player of the Game: Loyola-Chicago’s PG Mack Nelson-14 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Game #26 [BRACKET BUSTER], Feb. 19, 2020: Missouri State Bears (17-8) at Portland State Vikings (18-9)

We’re the #14 team on the Who’s Out list of the Bubble Watch. Portland State is the #15 team on the same list. It’s rather hard to imagine that this game really means much since we probably have to win the conference tournament to get into the Big Dance.

Another tight game with 19 lead changes and 13 ties. At the intermission we led 34-28. The game was closer than the final score indicated since the Vikings had to foul several times at the end of the game and we were hitting our free throws.

Final Score: Missouri State (18-8)—72, Portland State—65.

Leading players for Missouri State: PG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal; SG Kareem Masiello-15 pts, 4 assists, 2 reb, 1 block; C Marquis Hollins-12 pts, 3 assists, 4 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; PF Kenneth Grandison-8 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb.

Player of the Game: PG Brent Gregory-18 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal.

Game #27, Feb. 20, 2020: Illlinois State Redbirds (5-20, 2-14) at Missouri State Bears (18-8, 12-4)

We played an exceptionally strong first half and led 48-27 at the break. But we played sluggishly in the 2nd half. Fortunately we had too big a lead to be seriously threatened.

Final Score: Missouri State (19-8, 13-4, 2nd place tie)—81, Illinois State—66.

Leading players for Missouri State: SG Kareem Masiello-13 pts, 4 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; SF Quinton Asbury-13 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; C Marquis Hollins-10 pts, 4 reb; PF Kenneth Grandison-10 pts, 4 assists, 4 reb, 1 steal; C Joey Jones-8 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SG Kareem Masiello-13 pts, 4 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal, 1 block.

For Illinois State: SG Wesley Jones scored 24 points.

Game #28, Feb. 23, 2020: Missouri State Bears (19-8, 13-4) at Indiana State Sycamores (11-16, 9-8)

We couldn’t shake the Sycamores in the first half and held a slim 39-35 lead at the break. As the 2nd half progressed we managed to gain and hold a double digit lead in a game we needed to win to finish in a tie for 2nd place in the conference standings, since Loyola-Chicago upended Southern Illinois. Our win was #20 for us this season.

Final Score: Missouri State (20-8, 14-4, 2nd place tie)—76, Indiana State—65.

Leading players for Missouri State: SF Quinton Asbury-24 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb; SG Kareem Masiello-14 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal; PG Brent Gregory-9 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal; PG Bart McCain-9 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SF Quinton Asbury-24 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb.

For Indiana State: PF Elan Brown scored 24 points.

[PointGuard]

[PointGuard]

Wow, it’s amazing the improvement I’m seeing in Tommy. Bret’s expanded time with him and his ability to get Tommy to be responsive has been nothing but astonishing. While not perfect, Tommy has been so much better with me and with others, particularly his teachers and school mates. Tommy also has benefitted by having Meaghan around now that she and Bret are married. She’s particularly good with Tommy and he wants to make her proud of him. Tommy’s grades are improving and he’s back to playing basketball. Bret says that for his age, Tommy is a basketball wizard. In fact, he’s much better than most kids who are years older than him.

[PointGuard]

We’re the #4 seed in the Midwest and will play #5 seed Air Force

Round 1:

Game #30, Mar. 13, 2020: Air Force Falcons (18-11) vs Missouri State Bears (20-9)

We took an early lead and stretched our lead to 11 points early in the 1st half, but then Air Force came back and the last portion of the half went back-and-forth. We held a 43-39 halftime lead. We couldn’t get our offense going in the 2nd half and Air Force gradually pulled away from us for a disappointing end to our season.

Final Score: Air Force—81, Missouri State (20-10)—69.

Leading players for Missouri State: C Marquis Hollins-19 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 2 blocks; SF Quinton Asbury-15 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb; SG Kareem Masiello-13 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 2 steals; C Joey Jones-10 pts, 4 reb, 3 steals.

Player of the Game: Air Force’s C Dontay Jackson-15 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 2 steals.

Championship:

Providence—62, Illinois—56