STARKVILLE — Mississippi State fans have been waiting patiently for a day when the school’s men’s basketball team had depth again.
While the Bulldogs played nine players and several newcomers, a trio of veterans led the way in a 66-56 win against Western Carolina in the season opener Friday night.
It was MSU’s 400th win all-time at Humphrey Coliseum.
Roquez Johnson led the Bulldogs with 16 points, while Fred Thomas added 15 points. Former Starkville High School standout Gavin Ware had his 10th career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds
“I think that some people hear the name Western Carolina and they think it’s an automatic 20- or 40-point win, and that’s not the case,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “I think we came out a little tight in the first half and didn’t rely on our defense to get us through the tightness.
“We turned the ball over way too much in the first half, but we really reduced our turnovers in the second half.”
With Craig Sword and I.J. Ready sidelined by injuries, the Bulldogs were looking for answers. The Bulldogs fell down 16-10 early thanks in part to 12 first-half turnovers. MSU grabbed a 21-18 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman Maurice Dunlap. Meanwhile, Ware and Johnson were beginning to establish their presence underneath. Back-to-back baskets by Johnson then Ware capped a 15-4 run and gave MSU a 25-20 lead.
The Bulldogs also received help inside from Fallou Ndoye, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Senegal.
“It feels good (having Ndoye down low),” Ware said. “It gives Fallou the opportunity to get his feet wet in the game. It allows me to be patient and let Fallou get his job done. When I do come in, I try to provide for my team. When I am on the bench, I encourage Fallou and tell him the positions he needs to be. That is my job as a veteran.”
MSU shot 52.4 percent from the field in the first half but only led 31-30 at halftime.
“We did not have enough urgency in the first half,” Thomas said. “Once we got it together, we made a comeback and we came back in the second half with a sense of urgency and got the lead.”
Thomas converted an old-fashioned 3-point play and Ware followed with two free throws to stretch the lead to 36-30 a minute into the second half.
Trivante Bloodman fed Johnson, who converted a 3-point play to stretch the lead to 45-35 with 16 minutes, 16 seconds remaining.
“I thought we did a good job of getting to the free-throw line and making our free throws,” Ray said. “There was a huge disparity there, and that’s what you want. You always want to end up making more free throws than the other team even attempts. I thought that was a key.”
MSU hit 28 of 37 free throws, with Ware hitting 6 of 8, Johnson hitting 6 of 9, Thomas hitting 5 of 5 and Bloodman hitting 5 of 6. Western Carolina was 5 of 10.
“Coach Ray was saying in the beginning of the game we needed a lot of post feeds to open up our perimeter,” Johnson said. “Gavin and I tried to open it up for the guys in our perimeter. We executed plays and did everything we needed to do.”
Western Carolina closed within five points three times down the stretch three times, including 52-47 with 7:11 left. However, the continued strong play of Ware and Johnson underneath kept the Catamounts at bay.
“It was all about our urgency,” Ware said. “When we were in the locker room, coach said our urgency is not physical enough. We were not getting over screens or getting screens fast enough. Coach wanted us to be more on top of the play, rather than behind it and following the play. We did a better job of that in the second half.”
MSU had four turnovers in the second half.
Demetrius Henderson had seven rebounds in his MSU debut. Oliver Black logged 17 minutes in his first appearance, while Dunlap finished with six points on his 2-of-4 night from 3-point range.
MSU will play host to Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m. Monday.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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