ORLANDO, Fla.-If the game between Mississippi State and Monmouth had been a boxing match, the referee would have called a knockout with 12 minutes left in the second half.
Racing down the court on a fast break thanks to a steal by Winsome Frazier, Timmy Bowers threw a devious no-look pass to Marcus Campbell for an easy bucket.
Monmouth had been staggering since they stepped on the floor. Frazier stole the Hawks’ first pass, which led to an uncontested Bowers layup.
“It was a stupid mistake,” said Monmouth forward Blake Hamilton. “Obviously it set the tone and led to a blowout.”
Monmouth struggled to keep pace with State’s high-speed transition attack for entire game.
“We tried to rebound and push the transition,” Bowers said. “They missed some shots, and we were able to get on the glass and push it back up the court.”
Monmouth coach Dave Calloway agreed with Bowers.
“(Turnovers) led to a lot of their scoring,” Calloway said. “It didn’t allow us to control the tempo.”
The Bulldogs had a scare in the second half. With 10 minutes remaining, SEC Player of the Year Lawrence Roberts was accidentally hit in the eye by Monmouth center Brian Boxler. Roberts lay on the floor, cradling his face for several minutes. He was led off the court, but returned to the bench with five minutes remaining in the game.
Roberts was also nursing a high ankle sprain he suffered against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
State coach Rick Stansbury defended his decision to leave Roberts in after the Bulldogs had put the game out of reach. Roberts had not practiced for the week since his injury.
“We tried to get his game wind back and his conditioning up,” Stansbury said.
Stansbury took his starters out for good with 8:37 left in the second half. The Dawgs had taken a commanding 70-41 lead.
Roberts’ injury was the only black mark on an otherwise nearly flawless game for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Hawks 47-20. Branden Vincent had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Roberts led all scorers with 19 points.
“Roberts is extremely talented,” Calloway said. “I’m sure he is going to have a heck of a career in the NBA.”
Each Bulldog played at least five minutes. The Dawgs’ bench contributed 23 points.
Walk-on senior and crowd favorite Dennis Buse swished a three with 37 seconds left in the game.
Buse said getting an opportunity was a reward for a season’s worth of hard work.
“I had a wide-open look and I knew it was going up. I didn’t know if it was going in or not,” he said. “It was for my family.”
Dwayne Byfield was the only Monmouth to break into double digits in any category with 12 points.
Bowers finished with five points and eight assists.
“My teammates were set up where I could hit them and that created great offense,” Bowers said.