Mississippi State
6-5
Jacksonville
4-10
Bulldogs Get Back Into Win Column With Dominating Win
December 24, 2014 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State turned in its best defensive effort of the season to snap a five-game losing streak Tuesday night.
MSU shot 56.8 percent from the field and allowed its second-lowest point total of the season in a 70-47 win against Jacksonville at Humphrey Coliseum.
“We wanted to come out aggressive on offense,” MSU junior guard Fred Thomas said. “Coach asked us to be more aggressive and to play with more confidence. During the losing streak, he told us not to hang our heads. He told us to keep working hard and things would get better.”
MSU (6-5) scored the first nine points of the game and never trailed in the contest. Back-to-back baskets by I.J. Ready capped the game-opening 9-0 run. The Dolphins went more than five minutes before scoring their first points of the contest.
A 3-pointer by Thomas extended the lead to 18-7 with 8:30 left in the half. A 3-pointer by Trivante Bloodman ran the Maroon and White out to a 26-12 lead with 5:11 left in the half.
The Bulldogs hit 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range in the opening half and led 36-27 at the intermission.
“We got off to a great start with our defensive intensity,” MSU head coach Rick Ray said. “They had 10 points with about eight minutes left in the half and then gave up scores on something like 10 of 12 possessions. In the second half, our defensive effort was solid for the whole half.
“On offense, we shot the ball well and we also took good shots. In this game, we did a much better job of being down and ready and attacking, ready to make shots.”
Jacksonville (4-10) closed within eight points in the opening minutes of the second half. MSU responded with a 6-0 run to build back a double-digit lead, at 44-30 with 13:44 left in the contest.
Jacksonville was again within nine before a 12-4 run by MSU removed all doubt from the contest.
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 25 of 44 shots from the field (56.8 percent), 8 of 15 shots from 3-point range (53.3 percent) and 12 of 16 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent). The Dolphins hit 18 of 49 shots from the field (36.7 percent), 4 of 14 shots from 3-point range (28.6 percent) and 7 of 12 shots from the foul line (58.3 percent).
MSU held a 35-18 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 10 assists and 21 turnovers, while the Dolphins had seven assists and 17 turnovers.
Thomas led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while Travis Daniels added 13 points and Roquez Johnson added 11 points. Daniels also had a team-high 8 rebounds.
Jacksonville received 13 points from Andris Misters and 11 points from Kori Babineaux.
MSU players and coaches will take a couple of days off for Christmas. The team will return to action with a 7 p.m. start Dec. 30 against McNeese State, That contest will be available on SEC Network Plus.
