The Mississippi State Bulldog Men’s basketball squad toppled the South Dakota Coyotes handily on Thursday night via an impressive final score of 79-42. 
Tolu Smith led the way in scoring for MSU with 16 points and added in six rebounds to boot. Bulldog forward D.J. Jeffries had his best night in the maroon and white in recent memory as he went 4-7 from behind the arc. 
One of the more impressive efforts on the night, though, was Cameron Matthews. The stat-sheet-stuffing forward went 6-6 from the floor and added two more points from the charity stripe on his way to a 14 point, six rebound and three assist gem of a game. 
Matthews spoke about the improvement, or encouragement, of his ball handling after the game. 
“I feel like I’ve always had it,” said Matthews. “I just needed an extra push from somebody.” 
MSU hasn’t played a lot of highly ranked teams yet, but fans need not fret. Those days are just ahead. 
Next up on the schedule for MSU is the Fort Meyers invitational, where they will face off against Marquette on Monday, Nov. 21 before playing the winner of Georgia Tech and Utah Utes on Wednesday, Nov. 23. 
Jans spoke about the weekend ahead after the win on Thursday, and for now, his eyes are on Marquette alone. 
“It’s going to be fun. We’re going to see where we’re at one way or another,” said Jans. 
There’s still a lot to tell about this Bulldog team, but with a 4-0 record and more talented teams on the horizon, excitement is building around the Chris Jans led team in his first year.