Men’s Hoops Blitzes Coastal Carolina, 81-56

Sunday, November 24

Conway, S.C. (HTC Center)

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-1

Coastal Carolina

3-4

Mississippi State

Coastal Carolina

Men’s Hoops Blitzes Coastal Carolina, 81-56

November 24, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score VIDEO: Highlights VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference Box Score (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Associate Director/Communications

CONWAY, South Carolina – Tyson Carter turned in his second double-double over a three-day span as Mississippi State closed the Myrtle Beach Invitational with an emphatic 81-56 victory against tournament host Coastal Carolina on Sunday at the HTC Center.

The Bulldogs (6-1) bounced back from their only loss of the season to No. 17 Villanova and captured a third-place finish at the event. Mississippi State's defense held its fourth opponent under the 60-point barrier and its sixth opponent to below 40 percent shooting as the Chanticleers (3-4) totaled a 35.0 clip.

The Bulldogs improved to 33-1 overall and collected their 20th consecutive win when holding the opposition to less than 60 points.

Carter pumped in 13 of his game-leading 19 points and distributed seven of his career-best 10 assists in the first half. He was 6-of-12 from the floor ignited by a trio of three-pointers. The 19 points enabled Carter to surpass former teammate Aric Holman (2016-17-18-19) and Greg Lockhart (1986-87-88-89) into 38th place on the program's scoring list.

Reggie Perry, an All-Tournament Team selection, compiled a solid all-around effort with 16 points coupled with career-highs of six assists and three steals. He knocked down six of his nine shot attempts headed by a flawless 3-for-3 mark from beyond the three-point line.

Robert Woodard II dialed up eight points, 10 rebounds and two steals whereas Iverson Molinar and Prince Oduro chipped in six points apiece. Oduro also added three rebounds and two blocks in his 11 minutes of court time. Abdul Ado came away with four points, four rebounds and a block.

Off the bench, Elias King notched five points, and Devin Butts tacked on two points en route to the freshmen duo's first career points. Quinten Post secured two points and two rebounds, while Andrew Junkin secured his first career block shot on the defensive end.

For the contest, MSU connected on 29-of-55 shooting (52.7 percent), 10-of-23 from three-point land (43.5 percent) and 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) at the free throw line. The Bulldogs dished out a season's best 21 assists on 29 field goals.

Coastal Carolina was bottled up for a 19-of-54 from the field (35.2 percent), 3-of-16 on three-pointers (18.8 percent) and 15-of-19 (78.9 percent) at the charity stripe. The Chanticleers had three players garner double figures headed by 13 points courtesy of Tommy Burton. DeVante Jones and Tim Ceaser registered 10 points each.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"We really played well today. I was worried about this game watching how well Coastal Carolina has played. If the kid [point guard Ebrima Dibba] doesn't get hurt, they beat Baylor [in the semifinals]. I loved our defense. We came out and really established the defensive end of the floor early and held them to 35 percent for the game."

"Tyson (Carter) had a fantastic game with 10 assists, zero turnovers to go along with his ability to shoot and score. Reggie (Perry) had an outstanding game. Glad to come out of here with a win after a disappointing loss to Villanova. I think I learned we're a little shorthanded still (point guard Nick Weatherspoon is out), but we're going to be a really good team. We've got great camaraderie, great unselfishness. When your best player is incredibly unselfish, it permeates everywhere. I'm excited about this team."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Mississippi State fired out to a 10-3 advantage during the opening 3:20 of the contest. The Bulldogs opened the scoring on a Tyson Carter reverse layup courtesy of Reggie Perry. Then, Carter returned the favor and found Perry for a three-pointer on the right wing.

Iverson Molinar added an ankle-breaking layup in transition, and Carter canned a late shot clock trey on the right wing to make it 10-3 with 16:40 left.

Ahead 10-7 with 15:37 remaining, Mississippi State pieced together 23 of the next 31 points over the next 10:50 off the clock. The Bulldogs limited Coastal Carolina to only three field goals during the span.

Offensively, Mississippi State put the edge into double figures, 20-9 with 12:01 to go, on a Perry midrange jumper at the top of the key. The run was capped by a Carter steal which turned into Robert Woodard II runout slam to extend the advantage to 33-15 at the 4:16 mark.

The Bulldogs took a 41-23 lead into the locker room and amassed 13 assists on 16 first-half baskets. Mississippi State was 16-of-29 shooting compared to a 9-of-26 mark for the Chanticleers during the opening 20 minutes.

Coastal Carolina used a seven-point spurt during the early moments of the second half to close to 42-30 with 15:40 left.

Up 47-36 at the 11:21 mark, the Bulldogs delivered the knockout punch with a 14-2 flurry over the next 3:20 off the clock. Oduro kickstarted the charge with a hook shot in the lane followed by a Molinar one-handed jam.

Perry finished through the contact with an old school three-point play on a left-handed layup to bring the score to 56-36 with 8:55 remaining. D.J. Stewart Jr. and Oduro bookended the flurry with a trey and two-handed dunk, respectively, to extend the lead to 61-38 with 7:47 to go.

Mississippi State ballooned the spread out to 31 points, 81-50 inside the final minute, after a Devin Butts jumper sandwiched between two Elias King baskets.

2019 Myrtle Beach Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jared Butler (Baylor)
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova)
MaCio Teague (Baylor)

UP NEXT
Mississippi State returns home to face its fourth non-conference opponent from the state of Louisiana as Louisiana Tech visits Humphrey Coliseum on Thursday, December 5th. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed online only courtesy of SEC Network+.

It's "Christmas Vacation Night" at the Hump, and the first 500 fans will receive a "Cousin Eddie" style M-state branded ski alpine hat.

General Admission seating is now available at Humphrey Coliseum for men's basketball. Tickets can be purchased in advance for only $5 at www.HailState.com/tickets or in person staring 90 minutes before tipoff for $10 at the Humphrey Coliseum Box Office. Discounted online purchasing also ends two hours prior to tip time for each game.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.