Mississippi State
1-1
Akron
1-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 37 | 31 | 68 |
| Mississippi State | 29 | 29 | 58 |
Akron Stuns MSU At The Hump
November 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - A cold shooting night led to defeat for Mississippi State on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs shot 34 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers in a 68-58 loss to Akron in the second-round game of the 2K Sports Classic at Humphrey Coliseum.
Despite the defeat, the Bulldogs will advance to the semifinal round of the event. MSU will play Texas A&M on Nov. 17 and either Arizona State or St. John's on Nov. 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"Give credit to Akron," MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "They beat us in every area of the game. We never had control of the game. Akron beat us to every loose ball and every 50-50 ball went their way. They outworked us and made more plays."
The Bulldogs (1-1) failed to lead in the final 26 minutes of the contest. Thanks to the outside play of Quincy Diggs and inside play of 7-footer Zeke Marshall, the Zips had an answer for most of the night. Akron (1-0) led 37-29 at halftime and stretched the lead to as many as 12 points in the final half of play.
"We never could get anything going on a consistent basis," Stansbury said. "You can't blame being tired from Monday (a 76-66 win against Eastern Kentucky). However, for whatever reason, we really didn't respond. We didn't come out with a lot of energy, and we failed to get in a rhythm."
A Rodney Hood 3-point basket put the Bulldogs ahead 8-4. The first of two free throws by Brian Bryant ran the MSU lead to a game-best 11-6 lead with 16:20 left in the half.
The Zips responded with the game's next nine points to take a 15-11 advantage. Behind a putback from Wendell Lewis, the Maroon and White battled back on top, 23-21 with 7:05 left in the half.
The Zips responded with eight straight points and did not trail the rest of the way.
In the opening half, Akron shot 51.5 percent from the field, hitting on 17 of 33 shots from the field. Akron also held a slight rebounding advantage. However, heavy foul trouble was beginning to add up against the Zips.
Still, Akron, an NCAA Tournament team a season ago, used veteran leadership to weather the storm and build a second-half lead.
MSU closed within four points twice on a basket by Hood and a jumper by Jalen Steele. Steele's basket cut the deficit to 44-40 with 11:47 remaining.
Quickly, Akron regrouped when a couple of empty possessions by the Bulldogs led to a 10-4 run. Two free throws by Akron's Alex Abreu placed the Zips firmly in control, at 54-44 with 9:05 left.
The Bulldogs parlayed a 22-12 advantage in total fouls into multiple free throwing opportunities. However, the hosts could not get enough shots to fall from the field, highlighted by a 2-of-13 night from Arnett Moultrie and 2-of-9 night from Dee Bost.
MSU closed within six points twice in the final couple of minutes but could get no closer.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 19 of 55 shots from the field (34.5 percent), 2 of 13 shots from 3-point range (15.4 percent) and 18 of 25 shots from the foul line (72.0 percent). The Zips hit 30 of 62 shots from the field (48.4 percent), 2 of 10 shots from 3-point range (20.0 percent) and 6 of 8 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent).
MSU held a 41-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had five assists and 19 turnovers, while the Zips had six assists and 15 turnovers.
Bost finished with 13 points but only had two assists and four turnovers. Renardo Sidney had 12 points, while Hood added 10 points. Despite an off night from the field, Moultrie did pull down a game-best 15 rebounds.
Diggs finished with 19 points, while Marshall had 10 points, a team-high six rebounds and five blocked shots. Nikola Cvetinovic also pulled down six rebounds.
The Bulldogs conclude their season-opening three-game homestand by hosting South Alabama at 1 p.m. Saturday.
