Mississippi State
Fort Valley State (Exh.)
Ready Leads MSU In Exhibition Blowout
November 07, 2015 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – It took a few minutes for Mississippi State to find its rhythm, but when it did, there was no looking back.
In front of an estimated crowd of 3,300 Friday at Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State blew past Fort Valley State in commanding fashion to post a 95-56 victory in exhibition play.
Junior guard I.J. Ready paced all scorers with 17 points to go along with his 9 assists. In all, MSU had six players score in double-digits, as Quinndary Weatherspoon totaled 15 points, followed by Craig Sword with 14. Gavin Ware and Johnny Zuppardo each added 12 points, while Fred Thomas rounded out the double-digit production with 11.
Sword and Zuppardo also had 10 rebounds to give them double-doubles.
“What really excites me is to see six guys score in double-digits,” first-year MSU coach Ben Howland said. “That means we are spreading the ball around and doing great things.”
The Wildcats held the early 13-12 advantage, but the Bulldogs took the lead for good on a layup by Fallou Ndoye with 11:28 left in the opening frame, sparking a 13-1 run.
At the half, MSU led 47-27.
Mississippi State, which won the battle of the boards, 51-31, didn't let up to start the second half. Coming out of the locker room, the Bulldogs orchestrated a 16-5 run to extend their lead to 63-32 on a 3-pointer by Ready. He drained three treys on the night, while as a team MSU was 10-25.
For the game, 12 Mississippi State players saw action with nine scoring.
“I was really pleased overall with our effort,” Holland said. “I thought we did a good job tonight.”
MSU made 37 of its 69 shots, while the Wildcats were 21-60. MSU also dished out 26 assists. Tyler Edwards led Fort Valley State with 10 points.
Due to injuries, Malik Newman, Aric Holman and Joe Strugg didn't play. Newman's status will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.
Now, the attention turns toward the regular season as the Bulldogs face Eastern Washington Friday at 8 p.m. in a game televised by the SEC Network. The women also play at 5:15 p.m. and tickets for the double header are just $15.
