Double Trouble
MSU 90, Tennessee-Martin 74
Saturday, Nov. 22
For an undersized Tennessee-Martin team, Mississippi State’s low post spelled ‘Double Trouble.’
Lawrence Roberts recorded a double-double in his first 17 minutes as a Bulldog. He led the Bulldogs with 26 points and 15 rebounds on opening night and earned SEC Player of the Week honors.
Marcus Campbell also registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.
Nine of Timmy Bowers’s 17 points came from behind the arc, but MSU owned the paint, outscoring UTM 60-28 and outrebounding the visitors 47-32.
Hangin’ On
MSU 71, South Alabama 62
Wednesday, Nov 26
A 13-0 edge in the first half on second chance points led to a 44-36 lead for the Bulldogs at intermission.
South Alabama regrouped and used a nagging press to control the tempo and held State to four points in the first 9:36 of the second half led to a 51-48 led for the visiting Jaguars.
“This is just one of those games you try and survive,” MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “We didn’t get out in transition, but made enough shots down the stretch.”
Shane Power’s putback ended the drought and Bowers followed with a three that reclaimed the lead. USA tied the game twice, but never led again.
“They really just got us out of rhythm with their press,” Power said. “They did a good job of slowing the game.”
Bowers sank four treys to score 21 and notched three assists and three steals. Winsome Frazier added 14 points.
The Jaguars contained Roberts and Campbell to nine points apiece, but had no answer for Branden Vincent, who posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Dawgs claimed 45 rebounds, while holding the Jaguars to 27.
Snap
MSU 81, Western Kentucky 75
Saturday, Nov. 29
Five players scored in double figures to balance the Bulldog attack as State snapped WKU’s 39-game home win streak.
Frazier smoked the nets from the perimeter (6-10 treys) and led the Dawgs with 24 points. Bowers added three three’s and 15 total points. Campbell and Roberts combined for 27 more and Roberts snagged a game-high 10 rebounds.
Power scored all 11 bench points for State, while Western mustered just four bench points.
The game featured seven ties and nine lead changes. State led by two with 37.8 seconds to go, but Western couldn’t capitalize.
Four free throws later and the Bulldogs became the first visiting team to leave Diddle Arena with a victory since St. Joseph’s on Dec. 21, 2000.
Running of the Bulldogs
MSU 92, McNeese 69
Monday, Dec. 1
Bowers’s first trey of four gave the Bulldogs an 8-2 lead with 17:52 remaining in the first half and it was never close after that. The Dawgs stampeded the Cowboys again and again and again to take a 49-24 halftime lead.
The Dawgs outscored McNeese 22-3 on fast break points and 60-28 in the paint.
“We were real sharp in the first half,” Stansbury said. “We had great defensive intensity and took they’re best two players out of the game.”
Frazier continued his hot shooting (8-11) for 18 points and stole the ball five times. McNeese had just seven assists and made 23 turnovers that led to 32 points for the Dawgs.
“I just try to bring a lot of energy evertime,” Frazier said.
Bowers added 17 and dished six assists.
“We wanted to jump on them early because they had hung in against LSU,” Bowers said. “After we got up, we worked on the details.”
Roberts led all rebounders again with 14 and added 10 points for his third double-double in four games.
“We didn’t want to have a letdown,” Roberts said. “We turned our defensive plays into offense. When we do that, we have the potential to be a tough team.”