The Mississippi State Bulldogs survived a close one 76-74 against Appalachian State Friday night. In a game that featured four ties, eight lead changes and a 40-point performance by Appalachian State point guard Donald Sims, the Bulldogs still found a way to step up and win a close game.
Sims opened up the scoring for App State off of a steal from an errant Bulldog pass for an easy layup.  Sims had three huge steals throughout the game, each one resulting in points.
Stansbury said MSU had no defense for Sims all night.
“Sims is about as good a little guard as you’re going to play against. What a night, 40 points. We had no answer for him. All we could do was hope he missed some shots,” Stansbury said.
Luckily for MSU, he did miss some shots, as he ended the game 11-31 shooting, which is only 35 percent.
The first half belonged to MSU forward Kodi Augustus with 18 points (26 on the night) and Sims with 17. The game went back and forth for a little while, but State entered halftime with a strong 11-point lead.
The second half is when the game really got interesting. The Mountaineers went on a six minute, 18-6 run to take the lead 50-49. 
Ravern Johnson kept the Bulldogs in the game in the second half, but eventually, the Mountaineers pushed the lead all the way to nine points with approximately two minutes left in the game.
Augustus said Stansbury then ordered the Dawgs to take a more active approach guarding Sims.
“Coach had told us to move up and pressure the ball, Sims drove and kind of got shoved around,” Augustus said. “He’d been making threes so we tried to give him a different look.”
The pressure worked, as the Bulldogs forced a turnover and managed three more steals in those final two minutes. Riley Benock hit a clutch three-pointer to cut the deficit to five. 
The Bulldogs only hit 18 of 29 free throws but were 7-9 in the final two minutes. Brian Bryant was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three free shots which was crucial as it put the Bulldogs down by just one point.
Twany Beckham picked Sims’ pocket for a fast break Jalen Steele layup which put the Dawgs ahead 75-74, and the Bulldogs never looked back.
The immense defensive pressure caused another turnover for Sims, and Johnson was then fouled. He hit one of two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining on the clock. Sims final 3-point attempt was blocked by Augustus, and the Dawgs could finally breathe easily.
“I knew he was going to try to go for the three, he was shooting threes all game. I timed it well and tipped it,” Augustus said. “He kind of faked it at the end and stumbled a little bit. But great game, great game.”
It was a great, evenly-matched game indeed. Both teams had 19 bench points and 14 second chance points. MSU scored 26 points in the paint while Appalachian State had 24. App State managed 44 rebounds while the Bulldogs grabbed 43.
The difference in the ball game came in field goal percentage, where MSU was 43 percent overall and ASU was 37 percent overall. Stansbury expressed his happiness with Johnson’s defensive performance post-game.
“I’ve never walked into my locker, ever, in his four years, and really, really thought that his ability to defend [Omar] Carter, or defend somebody, was a key to the game,” Stansbury said. “But Ravern’s ability to defend Carter tonight, who came in averaging 27 a game, was a huge key. Again, that’s a first for Ravern — to walk into the locker room and credit him for shutting down somebody — so I’m really proud of him.”
MSU saw improved performances from several players, including Beckham who had two steals and seven assists. Steele provided key depth and made several hustle plays, including some key rebounds and the go-ahead layup. Wendell Lewis provided solid help off the bench in the form of five rebounds and six points as Elgin Bailey played very hard but still struggled with some after affects of his knee injury. 
Augustus believes winning close games without Bost and Sidney will help the Bulldogs later on in the season.
“It’s huge because a lot of guys are getting great, quality experience that will be crucial at the end of the season.”
Stansbury was obviously pleased his team pulled out the win but saw it as more of survival than an outright win and insinuated this may not be the Bulldogs last barnburner.
“We survived. We survived the game. Now we have to figure out ways to play two halves,”  Stansbury said. “[But] you can coach from a win. It’s going to be this way for this team throughout.”