After losing their first 10 games in 10 years of visiting Bud Walton Arena, the Mississippi State Bulldogs had to work hard down the stretch to secure a 77-70 victory.
“It’s nice to finally win one here,” Bowers said. “I was tired of people talking about how Mississippi State hadn’t won here.”
The No. 4 Dawgs almost blew an 18-point second half lead but held on in front of 19,042 at Bud Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks whittled the 18-point deficit to just three points with 1:57 left on a Jonathon Modica three-pointer that cut the lead to 73-70. However, that would be the last basket Arkansas would get. Winsome Frazier hit four free throws in the final 1:30 to clinch the win.
“To be able to execute when the game is on the line is huge,” Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. “A lot of teams can do it when the game isn’t close, but our kids found a way to do it when it counted.”
Frazier, who scored 23 points, hit his first four three-pointers to help put the Dawgs up by as much as 16 in the first half before Arkansas closed the half and the gap with a 10-2 run.
“The first half, I don’t think we had the zip that we had been having,” Stansbury said. “I saw some fatigue in us.”
If Mississippi State felt fatigue as they went into the locker room, they didn’t show it. The Bulldogs opened up the second half by expanding the lead to 60-42 on Shane Power’s three-point-play with 10:57 remaining.
However, Arkansas, spurred by Modica’s career-high 33 points, fought to within eight at 70-62 with two and a half minutes to go.
While defending a lay-up, Timmy Bowers was called for a flagrant foul on Matt Jones, who fell hard to the floor with an injury.
Mike Jones came off the bench to knock down the two free throws. Modica then scored the Hogs’ final three points.
Mississippi State once again relied heavily on its starting five, with all five starters playing over 35 minutes.
“It was very obvious that we were physically worn out tonight,” Stansbury said. “But to our team’s credit, we found a way to make offensive and defensive plays when we had to, and get the win.”
Rebounding helped MSU control the game. The Dawgs dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Razorbacks 36-23, including a 19-5 edge at halftime.
Four of Mississippi State’s five starters scored in double digits. Frazier led the way with 23, including 14 in the first half. Lawrence Roberts added another double-double to his rsum with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Power scored a season-high 17 points and Bowers chipped in 10.
The Dawgs’ victory was the first win over Arkansas in Fayetteville since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992.
The Bulldogs lost twice on the Hogs’ old home court in Barnhill Arena, before the Razorbacks moved to the Bud. State had last won in Fayetteville in 1971, before any of the players were even born.
“I told my team that this was not a long-time coming because this was the first time this team has come up here and played,” Stansbury said.
“Whatever happened here before, this team wasn’t a part of it,” he said. “I knew that this team had what it took to come up here and win.”