CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A tough night offensively led to the end of the Mississippi State men’s basketball team’s season-opening winning streak Saturday night.
MSU dropped a 61-52 decision to TCU in the championship game of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic. The Bulldogs lost for the first time after opening the season with five straight wins.
Fred Thomas led the Bulldogs with 14 points. Thomas was 5 of 10 from the field, including a 3-of-6 night from 3-point range. Trivante Bloodman and Gavin Ware were also in double figures with 11 points apiece.
“College basketball is a possession by possession grind it out game,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “(Friday night’s 75-50 win against Saint Louis) is an abnormality. We can’t have the mistakes we made tonight and win grind it out type games.”
MSU started cold. The Bulldogs managed one field goal over the first seven minutes of play. Yet, MSU erased a 7-2 deficit by scoring the game’s next six points. The lead went back and forth several times with the Bulldogs going ahead 19-17 on an I.J. Ready layup with 3:30 left in the half.
From there, MSU managed one field goal for the rest of the half and trailed 30-21 at the intermission.
The Horned Frogs (7-0) scored the first two baskets of the second half and stretched the lead to 34-21. MSU answered with back-to-back baskets from Fallou Ndoye and Fred Thomas. The Horned Frogs ran the lead back to 12 points at 43-31 with 12:41 left.
The Bulldogs mounted one last threat and pulled within five at 50-45 on a Thomas 3-point basket 3:38 left in the game. MSU missed two front end of one-plus-one opportunities and that made the comeback more difficult.
“We have a week off without a game and we have to work at getting better,” Ray said. “We will watch film. We will bring guys in on an individual basis and help them get better. We had too many mental mistakes but we will use this as a learning experience.”
Ndoye and Travis Daniels each had a team-high five rebounds for the Bulldogs.
n On Friday, MSU found the road to its liking in a 75-50 victory against Saint Louis in its first road game of the seaosn.
The Bulldogs shot 55.6 percent from the field and were never threatened after scoring the game’s first nine points.
“Our goal was to come out and shock them with our pace of play,” Ray said. “We have lot of guys who can bring the ball up the court fast. When we are in transition like that, we can get some uncontested shots from 3-point range.
“We shot the ball really well. We also shared the ball so it was an all-around good night.”
MSU began the offensive assault early. Thomas hit two 3-points and Daniels hit another as the Bulldogs sprinted to a 9-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
It was the beginning of a big night for redshirt junior Daniels, who was 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, for a career-high 21 points.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 26-13 on three consecutive baskets from Ware.
St. Louis (3-2) ended the half on a 9-1 run to pull within 37-27 at halftime.
The Billikens pulled within seven at 42-35 with 16 minutes, 54 seconds left remaining. MSU followed with an 18-2 run to open a 60-37 advantage with 8:50 to go.
“Travis played well,” Ray said. “Gavin may be our best shooter and he had a great night. You have to like the effort of players like Oliver Black and Maurice Dunlap. They work so hard in practice every day and that is why they earn the minutes. They made some solid contributions.”
The Bulldogs also got a lift from junior Craig Sword, who played for the first time this season. While Sword didn’t score, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer from a year ago logged 11 minutes.
MSU was 30 of 54 from the field (55.6 percent), 8 of 17 from 3-point range (47.1), and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line (77.8). Saint Louis was 20 of 55 from the field (36.4), 5 of 20 from 3-point range (25), and 5 of 13 from the foul line (38.5).
MSU held a 39-24 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 17 assists and 14 turnovers, while the Billikens had four assists and 11 turnovers.
Ware had 16 points, while Thomas added 14 points. Daniels had a team-high six rebounds, while IJ Ready had a team-high five assists and no turnovers in 21 minutes.
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