Bulldogs' Bench Plays A Big Role

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State made a statement straight out of the gate in Southeastern Conference play Wednesday night with its 81-68 victory over Arkansas.

It was the Bulldogs' fourth victory in a row and the bench played a big part in it. MSU's reserves combined for 20 points with Rocket Watts and Andersson Garcia going for seven points apiece and Javian Davis contributing six points and eight rebounds.

"One of the reasons we won (on Wednesday) was that our depth is so much better than it was a year ago," said head coach Ben Howland. "I love our depth…We have a lot of good players so that excites me."

It was a career-high in points for Garcia. The sophomore wing from the Dominican Republic made all three of his shot attempts, including a 3-pointer early in the second half.

"Andersson Garcia's minutes were huge off the bench with what he does in terms of how hard he plays and how hard he competes," Howland said.

Garcia also threw down a thunderous two-handed jam after a Shakeel Moore steal that brought the crowd of 6,629 to their feet inside Humphrey Coliseum.

"That made feel good because of the support that everybody brings," Garcia said. "That means a lot."

That play is exactly the type of energy and excitement Garcia hopes to bring whenever he is on the floor. So far on the season, the 6-foot-7, 210-pounder is averaging 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 12.3 minutes per game.

"I told coach before the season started that I know my role," Garcia said. "I bring energy and am the energy guy on the team. I'm trying to bring the juice every time. That's something that I like to do and enjoy it."

Watts made his return to the floor for the first time since Dec. 14 while still recovering from an offseason surgery. The Michigan State transfer made three of his four shot attempts from the field and scored seven points in eight minutes.

"That's big for us because he's a guy that can put the ball in the basket," Howland said. "He's experienced."

It was the second-highest scoring output of the season for Watts and is expected to play an even bigger part of the Bulldogs' plans moving forward.

"Coach came up to me after the game and told me that my minutes are going to go up," Watts said. "He was concerned about my soreness and how I'd be able to move laterally on defense. But after he saw me play (on Wednesday), he gained more confidence in me and told me my minutes are going to go up."

Davis logged 14 minutes and five of his eight rebounds came on the offensive end. Those minutes in the post were clutch in helping spell Tolu Smith, who returned to the starting lineup from a foot injury.

"He's very important," Smith said of Davis. "We need him. Just having him off the bench is just great. He's just like another starter for us."

Davis, Garcia and Watts are just three members of State's bench that have made an impact this season.

Sophomore wing Cameron Matthews has made five starts and snagged 14 boards against North Alabama and scored 11 points against Montana. Sophomore forward Derek Fountain has made three starts and narrowly missed a double-double in a win over Georgia State with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman guard Cam Carter also made an instant impact scoring 11 points in his debut against North Alabama and followed up with eight points and seven assists against Montana.

The Bulldogs' bench is averaging 17.3 points per game in their 10 wins and just 13.7 in the three losses.

"It vital to have guys like Derek, J.D. (Davis), 'Mook' (Matthews), Andy and Cam - all those guys," Smith said. "Having a great team takes great depth and I think we have that. A lot of guys are capable of scoring, rebounding and doing all the little things that don't always show up on the stats sheet."

Bulldogs' Bench Plays A Big Role

Players Mentioned

Cam Carter

Javian Davis

Derek Fountain

Andersson Garcia

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

Rocket Watts

Mississippi State University Athletics