Mississippi State University’s Men’s Basketball team captured its first SEC road win of the season at struggling Auburn Wednesday night. This victory marked the first conference road win for the Bulldogs since Feb. 24. It sends the Bulldogs to 4-3 in conference play. Unfortunately, State was unable to gain any ground on division leading Alabama.
Going in the locker room at the half, the teams were statistically close, with State nursing a four-point lead. In the second half, State extended the lead, only to find themselves with a 51-50 lead with about eight minutes left in the game. State then turned up the defense and pulled away with four consecutive deuces.
The Bulldogs used a multi-threat offense that featured nine players putting the ball through the hoop. Four of the nine reached double figures.
Sophomore center Mario Austin led MSU with 19 points and 10 boards. Junior college transfer Michal Ignerski was next in both categories, scoring 13 and snagging eight (five offensive). Timmy Bowers came off the bench and produced 12 points, while senior Marckell Patterson added 10 of his own to the team’s tally.
Conference leader in assists, Derrick Zimmerman, found Bulldog scorers eight times and made an athletic block in the second half. Head coach Rick Stansbury has frequently attributed the team’s success to the court leadership that Zimmerman provides.
State held themselves to 13 turnovers while creating 14 assists. Throughout the game, the Bulldogs showed patience and unselfishness and were able to find the open man. As a result, State made 15 of 31 attempts in the second half.
MSU created an outrageous advantage on the glass, out-rebounding AU 45-28. Of the 45, State pulled down 18 offensive boards. Auburn had 19 defensive grabs. So, for every shot that the Bulldogs missed, they got a second chance half of the time, while the Tigers only hauled in nine offensive rebounds.
Auburn, who has now dropped five in a row, started three freshmen for the first time since 1997. Alabama is the only team that the Tigers have defeated in conference play. Auburn shot 81.8 percent from the free-throw line, and made seven three-pointers, but shot just 40.7 percent on the game from the field. The Bulldogs face another team with a losing streak this weekend. Upset-minded State will head to Florida for a contest with the Top 10 Gators. The Gators, once thought to be an invincible foe in the East, have lost three in a row, including two at home.