The Mississippi State Bulldog basketball team picked up where it left off in its exhibition contests at the Humphrey Coliseum with a season-opening victory on Saturday evening.The MSU Bulldogs defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 75-45 in front of 7,855 fans, extending their home-winning streak to eight games, dating back to last season.
The contest was tight through the first 10 minutes of play, with both teams struggling to score points. Louisiana Tech took a four-point lead into a timeout with 12 minutes remaining in the first half, but that was the last time those Bulldogs would possess the lead.
Following the timeout, Mississippi State went on a commanding 24-4 run to gain the lead entering halftime and subsequently win the game.
The 24-point spurt was sparked by electric play from senior forward Charles Rhodes and junior guard Jamont Gordon. Gordon tallied 12 of his game-high 21 points in the pull-away stretch, during which he scored a trio of 3-point shots.
“It was pretty big,” the Nashville native said of the scoring run. “Charles and I stepped up when the team needed us at our best. We had to make a couple of shots, and we both did that down that stretch.”
Head coach Rick Stansbury complimented the pair on their performances, which put the team ahead.
“This team has the capability of having five guys who at any moment in the game have a chance to change it some,” Stansbury said. “Tonight, Jamont and Charles got us going.”
Mississippi State also played stifling defense during the scoring stretch and held Louisiana Tech to an anemic 22 percent from the field. But despite the superb defensive effort during that time in the contest, the team still found itself on the losing end of the battle for rebounds.
Louisiana Tech collected 52 rebounds during the game, with the Mississippi State team gathering only 46.
Rebounding was a hot topic for Stansbury during the two exhibition games the team played in the week prior to Saturday’s game. He acknowledged the disparity in rebounding and said that area will be one of continued focus for the squad.
“[Rebounding] is always the first thing I look at,” said Stansbury, who is only six wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in MSU history. “I thought some things crept over into other parts of our game. When we got a lead, I didn’t think we rebounded like we should have.”
The bright spot in the rebounding department was from sophomore Barry Stewart, who amassed a team-high 11 rebounds and scored 13 points in the contest to give him the first double-double performance of his collegiate career.
Stewart struggled from the three-point line, where he went only 1-for-5, but his rebounds assisted the team during key moments.
“Barry is just solid,” Stansbury said. “I think there’s one thing he’s not done as well and that is shooting the basketball, but I’m not concerned about that. When he’s not making three-point shots, he finds ways to help your team win.”
While Stewart led the rebounding charge for Mississippi State with 11 rebounds, Rhodes was close behind with seven.
Rhodes commended the team’s overall defensive performance but said rebounding must improve.
“We did good on the defensive side, but the main thing we’re disappointed about is the rebounding,” Rhodes said. “We have to find that niche and get our rebounding back.”
Rebounding will be important for the squad as it plays host to Clemson Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Clemson took a 69-66 victory at home in last season’s meeting against Mississippi State.
The Tigers fell 78-73 to West Virginia in the championship game of the National Invitational Tournament to close out last season.
The Tigers return four starting players from last season’s squad, including their leading scorer, K.C. Rivers, who averaged 14 points per game a year ago.
Rhodes sees Thursday’s non-conference contest as a true early-season test for the Bulldogs.
“Thursday is going to be a big challenge for us,” he said. “Thursday is going to show us who our team is, and I can’t wait for the challenge. It’s really going to let us know who we are as a team.