After narrowly missing out on an NCAA tournament berth and having to settle for a top seed in the National Invitational Tournament, Mississippi State went back to its “bread and butter” Tuesday to get over any emotional letdown, defeating Mississippi Valley State 82-63 in the opening round of the NIT in front of 5,501 at the Humphrey Coliseum.The bread?
Jamont Gordon, who penetrated the Devils’ defense with his slashing style on his way to 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the game.
“Jamont got in that lane all night long,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. “If some other people would have made shots, he would have had 12 assists at half time.”
The butter?
Junior forward Charles Rhodes, who led all Bulldogs with 21 points and four blocks.
“We were just going to go inside out,” Rhodes said. “None of their guards could keep up with Jamont. We call it bread and butter; Jamont’s the bread and I’m the butter.”
The win advances MSU (19-12) into the second round of the NIT, where they will face the winner of tomorrow night’s Providence/Bradley game.
Stansbury said he was worried about his team getting excited about this game after looking worn out in last Saturday’s loss to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.
But with a home crowd behind them and Rhodes and Gordon playing top-caliber games, everything else just fell into place.
“That’s what you want your captains to do,” Stansbury said. “If anyone else could have hit some shots early, the game could have gotten out of hand.”
The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest and dominated the Devils with size down low, scoring 44 points in the paint.
“Obviously those guys were bigger and stronger around the basket,” MVSU head coach James Green said. ” Rhodes is a load for a team like us to defend. It was a long night for us to try to match up with them.”
Behind Rhodes and Gordon, freshman Ben Hansbrough was the only other Bulldog to crack double-digits with 15.
Mississippi Valley (18-16) was led by Carl Lucas, who had a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
MSU shot 48 percent from the floor in the contest, and had a 17/13 assist/turnover ratio, leading by as many as 28 late in the second half.
The Bulldogs improved to 10-0 against Southwestern Athletic Conference teams since Stansbury took over.
Tip off for Saturday’s second round matchup, regardless of the opponent, will be at 11 a.m. at Humphrey Coliseum to allow for ESPN television coverage.
“We’re glad to get that first game behind us,” Stansbury said. “We like it because it is ESPN, and we know we are going to be playing a good team. We will be ready to play whoever it is on Saturday morning.