Ben Howland's squad improved to 3-0 on their European tour, defeating the Adriatic Sea Tritons 96-66 on Wednesday.
Dogs Trounce Tritons To Keep Italy Record Unblemished
August 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball
MONTECCCHIO, Italy – Tyson Carter could barely take care of his media obligations following Wednesday's game against the Adriatic Sea Tritons.
Not because he was nervous or didn't want to do interviews. Instead, he was flooded by Italian fans wanting an autograph or picture.
After all, the highly-touted freshman did put on a superstar-like performance, scoring 31 points in leading Mississippi State to an easy 96-66 victory as the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 on this four-game European tour.
MSU concludes play Friday in Switzerland against a Kosovo national team at 9 a.m. CT before returning to the United States late Sunday after 13 days overseas.
"We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and keep up the work and success we've been having," said Carter, who has now scored 72 points in three games. "We ended up improving as the game went on. I think we got a lot better today."
The 2016 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year scored 22 of his points in the second half. With scoring leader Quinndary Weatherspoon on the bench in the second half with stomach pains, Carter's performance was critical.
Despite the margin of victory, the Bulldogs led just 49-36 at the break thanks to Carter's half-court shot at the buzzer in addition to Weatherspoon scoring all 14 of his points in the opening two quarers.
However, the Tritons closed the gap to 8 points in the third before MSU took advantage of its depth and put the game away with precision shooting down the stretch, particularly by Carter.
In a 5-minute span in the fourth quarter, Carter scored 10 of his team's 15 points.
"I thought we came out and were a little quick to shoot," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "That gave them a chance to stay in the game. I was glad that Q got things going in the first half, and that kind of broke the game away. That was a good overall win, and that was the weakest of the three teams we have played. We'll have a much tougher opponent in the Kosovo national team. That will be a tough match for us.
"Tyson is very consistent. He's been consistent in every single game. He really shot it well tonight and it was really fun to see him get that dunk. That pumped him up."
It wasn't just Carter who performed big, as MSU had two players record double-doubles.
Point guard Lamar Peters had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore forward Aric Holman had 12 points and 11 boards. Eli Wright had another strong outing with 17 points on 7-9 shooting.
For more information on MSU men's basketball, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching "HailStateMBK." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching "HailStateSnap."
Not because he was nervous or didn't want to do interviews. Instead, he was flooded by Italian fans wanting an autograph or picture.
After all, the highly-touted freshman did put on a superstar-like performance, scoring 31 points in leading Mississippi State to an easy 96-66 victory as the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 on this four-game European tour.
MSU concludes play Friday in Switzerland against a Kosovo national team at 9 a.m. CT before returning to the United States late Sunday after 13 days overseas.
"We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and keep up the work and success we've been having," said Carter, who has now scored 72 points in three games. "We ended up improving as the game went on. I think we got a lot better today."
The 2016 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year scored 22 of his points in the second half. With scoring leader Quinndary Weatherspoon on the bench in the second half with stomach pains, Carter's performance was critical.
Despite the margin of victory, the Bulldogs led just 49-36 at the break thanks to Carter's half-court shot at the buzzer in addition to Weatherspoon scoring all 14 of his points in the opening two quarers.
However, the Tritons closed the gap to 8 points in the third before MSU took advantage of its depth and put the game away with precision shooting down the stretch, particularly by Carter.
In a 5-minute span in the fourth quarter, Carter scored 10 of his team's 15 points.
"I thought we came out and were a little quick to shoot," MSU coach Ben Howland said. "That gave them a chance to stay in the game. I was glad that Q got things going in the first half, and that kind of broke the game away. That was a good overall win, and that was the weakest of the three teams we have played. We'll have a much tougher opponent in the Kosovo national team. That will be a tough match for us.
"Tyson is very consistent. He's been consistent in every single game. He really shot it well tonight and it was really fun to see him get that dunk. That pumped him up."
It wasn't just Carter who performed big, as MSU had two players record double-doubles.
Point guard Lamar Peters had 11 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore forward Aric Holman had 12 points and 11 boards. Eli Wright had another strong outing with 17 points on 7-9 shooting.
For more information on MSU men's basketball, follow the program on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching "HailStateMBK." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching "HailStateSnap."
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