Men’s Hoops Powers Past FIU, 77-69, in Opener

Tuesday, November 5

Starkville

7:00 PM

Mississippi State

1-0

Florida International

0-1

Florida International

Mississippi State

Men’s Hoops Powers Past FIU, 77-69, in Opener

November 05, 2019 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)VIDEO: Postgame Presser VIDEO: Tyson Carter Interview Photo Gallery Quotes (PDF)

by Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Tyson Carter registered a solid all-around performance with 23 points, a career-high tying seven rebounds and a career-best six steals to spearhead Mississippi State to a 77-69 opening night victory over Florida International on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (1-0) have won their last seven season openers highlighted by all five during the Ben Howland era. Under Howland, State has beat its opponents by an average of 17.2 points per game to begin the season.

Mississippi State extended its SEC-leading nonconference home winning streak to 23 games which datiesback to 2016-17.

For Carter, the 23 points was his highest scoring output since dropping in a career-high 35 points versus North Dakota State in 2017-18 as a sophomore. He drained five treys which enabled him to surpass Fred Thomas (2013-14-15-16), Tony Watts (1989-90-91-92) and Marcus Grant (1992-93-94-95) into sole possession of eighth place on the program's three-point list.

The 23 points also vaulted Carter past Chauncey Robinson (1983-84-85-86) and Doug Hartsfield (1988-89-90-91) into 43rd place on State's all-time scoring list. He is 56 points shy of becoming the 40th player to reach 1,000 career points.

Iverson Molinar and Reggie Perry turned in 22 of their combined 27 points during the second half. Perry colleted 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting coupled with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Molinar closed 14 points on 5-of-10 from the floor.

Molinar joins teammates Carter and Nick Weatherspoon to start as freshmen and pile up double figures in their career debuts.

D.J. Stewart Jr. and KeyShawn Feazell combined for 10 points and five rebounds off the bench and knocked down six of their nine field goal attempts.

Robert Woodard II nearly compiled a double-double with nine points and a team-leading eight rebounds whereas Abdul Ado came away with six points, four rebounds and two blocks.

For the contest, MSU hit 31-of-57 shots from the field (54.4 percent), 5-of-14 shots from 3-point range (35.7 percent) and 10-of-17 shots from the foul line (58.8 percent).

MSU held a 36-28 rebounding advantage and a 50-42 edge in paint points. The Bulldogs had 14 assists and 18 turnovers, while the Panthers had 16 assists and 17 turnovers.

FIU shot 28-of-60 overall (46.7 percent), 7-of-26 on three-pointers (26.9 percent) and 6-of-10 at the charity stripe (60.0 percent). The Panthers received 16 points from Devon Andrews and 13 points from Trejon Jacob.

FROM THE BENCH WITH COACH HOWLAND
"That was a very tough first game, incredibly competitive opponent. That is what we expected. I knew it going into this game today how hard this was going to be because of the style they play. You have four little guys out there at all times trying to match up. They really have a good scheme the way they penetrate and kick it back out."

"Tyson [Carter] was very stable. We are asking Tyson to do so much. Without Nick [Weatherspoon] out there, he is our one experienced guard. He is asked to do so much and is really delivering. He shot the ball well and played an enormous amount of minutes."

"Iverson [Molinar] did a couple great [plays] attacking the rim on the up-ball screen, just going by the big and finishing. He had the and-one and did a really nice job for us finishing strong in the second half. I thought his second half in particular offensively was very good."

"I thought KeyShawn [Feazell] gave us great minutes off the bench. He fouls out in 24 minutes and plays his heart out. That one dunk was spectacular in the first half on a great cut to the basket. He is playing with a sense that you would think he played a lot of minutes last year. He is really a first-year guy playing a major role and major minutes. He is giving us a calming effect out there. He really knows how to play. I am really proud of him."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Down 25-20 at the 7:34 mark, the Bulldogs ripped off 20 of the final 25 points to turn a five-point defict into a 10-point halftime lead.

The run was highlighted by back-to-back dunks courtesy of KeyShawn Feazell and Robert Woodard II to give State the momentum. Tyson Carter beat the halftime buzzer with a layup going coast-to-coast in the last five seconds.

State took a 40-30 lead into halftime and connected on 16 of its 27 shots during the first half.

The Panthers fired back with a 16-6 flurry of their own to knot the score at 46-46 at the 14:47 mark. Mississippi State regrouped with eight unanswered points over the next 1:31 as Carter hit on a pair of three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 54-46 edge.

FIU relied on a couple of three-pointers by Cameron Corcoran and Eric Lovett to come within 62-60 with 8:08 remaining.

State never relinquished its lead as they used four points at the free throw line and layups from Iverson Molinar and Robert Woodard II to pull back ahead 69-60 with 5:27 to go.

The Bulldogs hit on five of their last seven field goals to complete the 77-69 triumph over FIU.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State continues its four-game homestand and hosts Sam Houston State Friday at Humphrey Coliseum. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. The game will be carried online only courtesy of SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN platform.

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.