When Mississippi State shoots better than 50 percent, it usually translates into a win.
Saturday afternoon, the first game of a three-game, early-season homestead, was no different.
Despite 29 turnovers, Mississippi State shot 66 percent from the field and defeated Nicholls State 90-55 to open their 95th season of men’s basketball.
Four Bulldogs-Charles Rhodes, Reginald Delk, Jamont Gordon and Barry Stewart-each had 14 points to pace the team.
The Bulldogs (1-0) trailed the first six minutes of the game but finally took it’s first lead on two free throws by All-SEC Second Team selection Rhodes with 13:21 left in the half.
Rhodes finished with five rebounds, but also paced the team with 10 turnovers.
A layup by Delk less than a minute later sparked a 17-4 run for State.
The Bulldogs went on to lead by as much as 12 with 6:44 to go in the first half.
Delk scored 10 points in the first half to help give the Bulldogs a 34-31 halftime lead.
The biggest problem, both last season and in State’s two exhibition games, has been the large amount of turnovers.
The problem still nagged the Bulldogs Saturday, as MSU came out after halftime with four turnovers in about three minutes.
“The turnovers were mainly on us,” Rhodes said. “I was having problems getting called for traveling, charges and 3-second violations.”
“It was definitely two different games played in two halves,” MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said.
But sophomore standout Jamont Gordon’s three pointer with 16:08 left ignited a 21-6 run for State that would seal the victory.
“It was out of control,” Gordon said. “We were trying to rush the pass. We knew we could beat [Nicholls State], but we were trying to force things that were not there. We just settled down in the second half and started playing together as a team.”
Though the game was tight, Nicholls State (0-1) had continual problems with Stansbury’s zone defense.
NSU shot 36 percent (11-of-30), scored just 24 points after halftime and trailed 61-43 by the time Delk made a slam dunk with 9:59 remaining in the game.
“I thought we shared the ball better tonight than we have before, and there were guys making extra passes,” Stansbury said. “This was very good for us today.”
Nicholls State was paced by junior forward Aaron Scott who had 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting.
Sophomore Ryan Bathie added 15 more points, though only two came after halftime.
Bathie and Scott were the only NSU players to score in the double digits.