Piotr Stelmach’s 15 points lifted the Mississippi State Bulldogs to a 76-73 victory over the West Florida Argonauts in a turnover-filled exhibition game Saturday afternoon.
“We got an education today defensively,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. “They run a lot of back cuts and all those other things. Give them (West Florida) some credit, they made some shots. They made 11 three-pointers. I don’t know if there was any element of the game that we’re pleased with.”
Forward Charles Rhodes followed up a 21-point performance a week ago with 13, and guard Reginald Delk tacked on 13 more off the bench.
Twin brother Richard Delk, also a guard, added 12 points and six assists filling in for senior point guard Jamall Edmondson, who sat out with a pulled groin. Edmondson is out indefinitely.
The contributions and mistakes from the new Bulldogs in the game, also including Oak Hill Academy swingman Jamont Gordon (who was recently selected by CBS Sportsline.com as one of 11 freshmen who will make the biggest impact nationally this season), seemed to foreshadow what fans can expect from the fast-paced and exciting-but inexperienced-young pups this season.
Not only does the MSU roster boast six freshman players, but out of the 326 NCAA Division I men’s basketball squads, the Bulldogs are one of only five schools to not return any starters as the 2005-06 season tips off, joining the short list of Georgia Tech, Arkansas-Little Rock, Texas Pan-American and reigning national champion North Carolina. Now missing its top six scorers and rebounders from a year ago, Mississippi State will not return a single starter for the first time since the post-Final Four run of 1996-97.
“Freshmen make mistakes,” Stansbury said. “That is part of it, and I can live with that all day long. Those two made a bunch of mistakes, defensively more than offensively, but they make basketball plays as well. Richard Delk has the ability to go off the dribble and make some plays.”
In order to combat his 6-foot-4 frame, an undersized West Florida squad threw different defensive schemes at the young guard, hoping to frustrate him.
Richard Delk had six turnovers to match his assists but also showed the ability to realize mismatches and take high-percentage shots.
“I did alright,” Delk said with a grin. “I didn’t want to shoot the three too much. I had a shorter guard on me, so I drove in to try to shoot over him. I need to calm down on my turnovers-I had way too many.”
The loss of Edmondson may be long-term and has a major effect on the on-floor veteran leadership for a team with only three seniors on the 14-player roster.
“He is out indefinitely,” Stansbury said on the loss of the Montgomery, Ala., native, who added instant offense off the bench last season. “He has a pulled groin, and I don’t know when we will get him back. He hurt it in a freak accident in practice, dribbling up the court.”
Richard Delk is expected to take the reigns at point for the season opener against Chattanooga Saturday at 7p.m.
Until then, Bulldog veterans Wesley Morgan and Dietric Slater are expected to help lead with their experience. Morgan had five blocks in 13 minutes, and Slater sealed the game by hitting a three-pointer with the shot clock running down to make it a 73-65 game with 1:55 left.
Stelmach is also expected to play a role in the offense, but Stansbury hinted that his consistency will be his greatest value.
“He is a complementary player,” Stansbury said. “I think he is a guy that can be steady for you and do a couple of things.”
The Argonauts, despite being completely overmatched on size, kept the game close with pesky defense and prolific three-point shooting.
“We played this game a little differently than we did against Florida last week,” West Florida head coach Don Hogan said. “We shot the ball well, and that allowed us to stay in the game. Mississippi State’s size was the difference. I know they had some guys out due to injury, which affected their depth. We found things to work on. It was a great way to finish the exhibition season.”
Kashif Russell, Maurice Thomas and Donavan Redden all had 16 points, leading a balanced scoring attack by the Argonauts, who shot 48.3 percent from the field.
West Florida outscored Mississippi State 41-40 in the second half but couldn’t find a stop when they really needed it. The blue-and-green Argonauts cut the deficit to two points on a couple occasions but an alley-oop dunk from Richard Delk electrified the crowd at The Hump and gave the Bulldogs enough momentum to close out the final nine minutes.
The Argonauts had ball-handling errors of their own, turning it over 27 times to Mississippi State’s 24. MSU also out-rebounded them 40-31 and went to the free throw line 20 more times.
The Bulldogs now turn to their regular season schedule, after going undefeated in preseason play, with a group of fresh faces expecting to lead themselves.
“We open up the real deal next Saturday against a very good basketball team in Chattanooga,” Stansbury said. “We have a long way to go in a week.”