The Mississippi State Bulldogs, again, find a way to win at home. The Bulldogs took a back and forth battle with the Volunteers of Tennessee in overtime 92 to 91. The big shot of the game came, when Michal Ignerski hit a three pointer, in OT, to lift the spirits of MSU and tie the game. “I just got the ball and hit it. It was pretty easy. I just really wanted to win this game,” )Ignerski said. The three was the only one of the extra period for State. “Michal stepped up and made a great basketball shot. That’s what we needed,” head coach Rick Stansbury stated.
In a back and forth, physical game, the Bullies banged their way to out rebounding Tennessee 34 to 33. “One important stat is that we out rebounded them by one. It is huge to out rebound a Tennessee team,” coach Stansbury said. Inside play was a factor in the game, as forward Marcus Haislip led the Vols in scoring with 27 points and also grabbed 7 boards.
Mario Austin proved to be a large factor for State with 22 points and 6 rebounds. “Mario Austin is a totally different person and a totally different ball player. You can see the motivation in his eyes and how he wants the ball. He’s hungry for it,” Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson said.
“We knew coming into the game that we needed to get two players going, Marckell Patterson and Michal Ignerski. Somehow, they got it going tonight,” Stansbury said. Patterson led the team with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Ignerski tacked on 16 points.
Saturday, State will travel to a close rival, the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama. The Tide, is once again, led by Rod Grizzard.
On Wednesday night, No. 16 Alabama proved they could win big games on the road, as the Tide traveled to No. 20 Georgia to hand the Bulldogs a 77-72 loss. The key to the game was the Crimson Tide out rebounding Georgia 48 to 38.
This is set to be a big time Western Division showdown between the two border foes. The Bulldogs haven’t won at Alabama since the 1998-99 season, where the Bullies won by a 55-50 count. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. The game will not be televised.