Jamont Gordon scored some layups, hit some mid-range jump shots and buried a few long-range three pointers, and it was just another game for the Bulldogs’ leading scorer.Gordon collected 24 points for the second consecutive game and connected on four of his eight attempts from the three-point line to lead Mississippi State (13-5, 4-0 SEC) to a 66-56 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-8, 0-4 SEC) on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa.
The win gave the Bulldogs their best start to a conference schedule since the 1994 season. The victory was Mississippi State’s second road win during conference play. After Saturday’s game, head coach Rick Stansbury stressed the importance of winning conference road games.
“Anytime you go on the road in this league, I think everyone knows how special that is,” Stansbury said. “What makes this so special is we won on the road and we did it against a very good Alabama basketball team.”
Alabama was led in the contest by junior frontcourt player Richard Hendrix, who scored a team-high 21 points, hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field. He assisted in muscling Alabama back into the game with about five minutes remaining when it appeared that the Bulldogs were going to run away with their lead. With 3:58 remaining in the contest, Senario Hillman completed a three-point-play to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to four points.
However, the Bulldogs responded with two fast break layups by sophomore guard Barry Stewart to pull them ahead for good.
“Mississippi State has a good club, and they brought their ‘A’ game today,” Hendrix said. “Their best players stepped up to the plate today and played ball. They hit some big shots, made some big stops and pulled rebounds when they needed to.”
But one of the Bulldogs’ best shots wasn’t even considered decent at the moment it hit the air. As time winded down on the shot clock on a Mississippi State offensive possession during the second half, Stewart heaved an off-balance shot toward the basket. The shot wasn’t close to going inside the basket, but it bounced off the backboard at a precise angle for a charging Jarvis Varnado to corral the rebound and lay it in for two points. The shot was viewed as a good omen by many of the Bulldog players, including Gordon.
“When you’re hot, you’re hot, I guess,” said Gordon, who was named SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for his performance in last week’s games. “[Stewart] just threw it up there, and Jarvis just went and got it. It let us know that we were just hot.”
And hot seems to be a fitting word to describe the Bulldogs as of late.The victory over the Crimson Tide gave the streaking Bulldogs their eighth win in a row, and the ten-point margin of victory marked the highest Mississippi State margin of victory in Tuscaloosa since the 1989-1990 season.
Stansbury said he was happy with the victory on the road and has high hopes for his team if it can continue to pull out victories on the road for the remainder of the season.
“We talked about it from day one,” Stansbury said. “Everybody’s going to talk. But what separates the good ones and the teams that have a chance to compete for championships are the teams that win on the road.”
The Bulldogs’ perfect schedule will be put on the line at the Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday at 4 p.m. when they play host to in-state rival No. 15 Ole Miss (15-2, 2-2 SEC).
A problem arose in the Alabama contest, however, that has plagued the team at several points during its eight-game win streak, with that problem being free-throw shooting. The Bulldogs shot only 4-for-13 from the free-throw line in the game against Alabama.
Those woes have not gone unnoticed by Stansbury.
“If there’s one thing this team needs to do better, it is make free throws,” he said. “There’s no magical dust or pill I can give them. I still say we have some good guys who can make free throws, but we just haven’t made them for whatever reason.”
However, the free throw problems have not caused the Bulldogs to stumble during their SEC schedule, and they hope to have that problem fixed before Saturday’s game against Ole Miss.
The Rebels fell 80-77 to the Auburn Tigers last Saturday on the plains of Auburn. The loss was only the Rebels’ second of the season. Despite two losses in the SEC, Ole Miss is still viewed as a lethal threat by the Bulldogs because of a balanced squad.
The Rebels’ frontcourt is composed of Dwayne Curtis, who averages 15 points and nine rebounds per contest, Kenny Williams and Jermey Parnell. All three are seniors and provide experience for an otherwise young team.
“They are a load inside, and they are really good defensive players,” Varnado said. “We’ve just got to be ready to play and to fight with them.”
Curtis, Williams and Parnell serve as the team’s anchors, but the Rebels have also been sparked by freshman point guard Chris Warren.
Warren averages 16 points and five assists per game for Ole Miss and is also a difficult assignment for the Bulldogs.
“That’s where our defense comes in,” Stewart said. “I’m sure we’ll have our match-ups set up, and we plan on stopping him along with the other guys.”
In addition to the pressure of keeping their winning streak alive, the Bulldogs are also aware of the thoughts about the rivalry from the fans.
“I think this is a big game for the state, for the players and for the university,” senior Charles Rhodes said. “Since the season started, everyone has been talking about Mississippi State and Ole Miss. They’re always talking about that game, but it’s crazy this year.”
Though the pressure will be there since they are playing their in-state rivals, Mississippi State plans to keep its focus on defeating Ole Miss for the 133rd time and giving its fans something to be pleased with.
“It’s a big game, and we want to win it for M-State,” Stewart said. “I know they are a big rival, so we want to win this game for the school.