Seven minutes into Wednesday night’s game against Alabama, Ben Hansbrough was seen stepping onto the basketball court for the Bulldogs. About three minutes later, his presence was felt.Hansbrough connected on a 3-pointer from the corner, which was his first shot of the game. Twenty seconds later he was seen sprinting down the court for a layup after he and Jamont Gordon harassed an Alabama player and forced a turnover. It was then that he was formally welcomed back onto the court by the 6,782 fans at Humphrey Coliseum.
The sophomore guard, who was sidelined for the previous three games due to mononucleosis, came off the bench to score 10 points and provided a boost for the Bulldogs (15-7, 6-2 SEC) as they came away with a 73-66 victory over the Crimson Tide (13-10, 2-6 SEC).
“It was very vital just having him out there running the lanes, driving with the ball and getting layups,” Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury said. “We were not expecting him to play that much, but he was able to keep up with the pace of the game so we felt comfortable leaving him out there.”
At the start of the week, it was unknown to the public whether Hansbrough would be able to compete in Wednesday’s game. But judging by his 27 minutes of action, it would seem that he hadn’t missed any games, as he tried to put forth his usual effort to illicit his usual performance.
“I had a mindset to go out there and prove to Coach that I could play,” Hansbrough said. “I went out there trying to prove a point that I’m ready.”
He had another 3-pointer during the game, which also provided a good example of the spark and energy he brings to the team.
“He showed a lot of grit and determination,” Mississippi State senior Charles Rhodes said. “He did really good tonight and helped us.”
On the defensive end, Rhodes and frontcourt teammate Jarvis Varnado were efficient in settling down Tide leading scorer and rebounder Richard Hendrix. During the previous meeting between the two schools this season, Hendrix held Varnado and Rhodes to only nine combined points while notching 21 of his own. Wednesday night, it was the Bulldogs’ frontcourt doing the damage on the defensive end as Hendrix was limited to only 12 points.
“When you are able to hold Hendrix to 12 points and six rebounds, that is always a productive effort from your post defense,” said Stansbury, who picked up his 200th career coaching victory with the win over Alabama.
Mississippi State opened the second half by trying to pull away and opened up an eight-point lead in the second half, but a 10-2 run started by a Gordon jump shot enabled the Bulldogs to pull away and maintain a lead they wouldn’t lose for the remainder of the contest. Gordon finished the game with 17 points and 10 assists to give him his second double-double of the season.
The Bulldogs completed the season sweep over the Crimson Tide, which is a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the 1999 season. Now they are turning their attention to a Saturday trip to Auburn to take on the Tigers (12-9, 2-6 SEC) in a 6 p.m. tip-off at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
“Auburn is a hard place to play in, so right now we just have to get focused for Auburn,” Rhodes said.
Auburn will be searching for a win to snap its four-game losing streak, which was extended in a 66-63 loss to Kentucky on Wednesday night.