Saturday night, the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 67-51 in front of about 3,300 fans at the Hump. The game featured senior center Jarvis Varnado breaking NBA great Shaquille O’Neal’s career SEC blocked-shots record of 412. Varnado blocked 4 shots, giving him 413 career blocks.
Varnado said he is glad he got the blocked-shots record out of the way.
“I didn’t know I broke it until I came out of the game. Everyone was standing up, cheering and applauding – that’s when I knew I broke it,” Varnado said. “It’s an honor just to be mentioned with Shaquille. I just thank God for it. Now that’s it over, I can get past it and just win games.”
Varnado finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Head coach Rick Stansbury said he is proud of Varnado’s effort and hopes he cherishes the memory.
“To be able to do something that no other player in the conference has done, is an amazing feat,” Stansbury said. “It’s something he can talk to his old grandkids about.”
Besides garnering a win and Varnado’s accomplishment, the game was not necessarily satisfactory for Stansbury. MSU was noticeably out of rhythm in the first half, and only accumulated a six point halftime lead. Stansbury pointed to Phil Turner’s foul trouble as an issue with MSU’s first half play.
“It is very obvious that when we lost Phil Turner the first half, we were totally out of synch,” Stansbury said. “In the second half, we were better. Obviously, Phil brought some energy, but I thought we all got out and defended a little better. You can’t have those moments like we had in the first half.”
Turner’s playing time suffered because of two early fouls. In the second half, the Bulldogs picked up the pace and outscored the Wildcats by 10 points, winning the game by 16. MSU outrebounded Bethune-Cookman 37-32. MSU also outshot them 40 percent to 33 percent – a sign defense is improving.
Barry Stewart, Ravern Johnson and Dee Bost added 10 points as well. Romero Osby, Wendell Lewis and Riley Benock also played quality minutes for the Bulldogs off the bench.
The bench is a problem right now for the Bulldogs with Benock and Elgin Bailey both playing injured, Shaun Smith likely out for the year, John Riek suspended and the highly-touted Renardo Sidney’s eligibility status still in limbo with no end in sight.
On a positive note, Kodi Augustus finished serving his two game suspension, and Riek will be eligible to play after the UCLA game.
Stansbury said the bench will play a crucial role in getting the Bulldogs over the hump this season.
“You gotta have guys coming off of that bench bringing energy, bringing emotion, bringing something to the table,” Stansbury said. “Phil Turner is a guy that really brings you something.”
MSU returns to action tonight, with the Bulldogs taking on the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs at 7 p.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum. The Broncs bring an 0-4 record to Starkville and are led by power forward Luis Valera and shooting guard Jared Maree.
Valera is a solid contributor, but Maree is a threat to blow up in any particular game. The Bulldogs will have to play sound, fundamental basketball to keep the Broncs from staying in the game; however, the physically superior Bulldogs should have no problem handling the Broncs.
Turner said he is ready to get back out there and keep the Bulldogs’ development on the upswing. He said he knows the capability of this team is superb, with or without unavailable teammates.
“To be honest with you, it [absence of teammates] really doesn’t come up that much. We don’t focus on what we don’t have. We try to focus on what we do have and what we can do and worry about things as they come,” Turner said. “Basketball’s a fun game, and I love to play it. When we’re playing basketball the right way, the Bulldog way, the way we know we can, it is fun.”