STARKVILLE – There would be no close call this time.
After losing its last three Southeastern Conference games by a combined total of 16 points, Mississippi State’s basketball team used a 19-10 closing stretch to break through, defeating LSU 73-67 in the process.
“It means a lot because it gives us a lot of confidence,” said MSU coach Rick Ray, whose team improved to 10-11 overall and 3-5 in Southeastern Conference play. “It’s not just a win but it’s a win against a quality ball club. I don’t think there’s any doubt that LSU is an NCAA Tournament team, I think they are the second most-talented team in the SEC. We wanted to make sure we could take that next step. But the thing is, we wanted to make sure we stayed the course and it’s easier to do that when you win.”
The win was a continuation of MSU’s improved play of late, as the Bulldogs are 3-2 in their last five games. But the win over LSU is the Bulldogs’ best so far, as the Tigers are now 16-5 and 5-3.
“Give credit to Mississippi State,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “They have had some tough SEC games. They’ve won a couple but been very close in others like Ole Miss, the Georgia game in particular. I thought they did an excellent job today.”
One game after leading for 29 minutes in an eventual loss at Ole Miss, the Bulldogs finally closed the deal against the Tigers. After LSU tied its biggest lead with a 57-54 advantage with just under four minutes to go, the Bulldogs finished with a knockout punch. Coming out of the final media timeout, senior Roquez Johnson scored six straight points for MSU to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point advantage, setting MSU on course for its second home conference win this season. During that stretch, Johnson had a pair of dunks, the first to cut the lead to a point and the second, after a runout following an LSU turnover, gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.
According to MSU guard Fred Thomas, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points, MSU’s strong finish was a product of a spirited huddle during the final media timeout of the game.
“It was time to come together as a team,” said Thomas. “We looked at each other and decided if we’re ever going to come together, it’s right now. We worked on these situations in practice yesterday, like a two-minute drill, so we felt pretty comfortable.”
After Johnson’s second dunk gave MSU a 62-59 lead with two minutes left, the Bulldogs finished the game by making seven of eight free throws in the final 90 seconds to close out the win.
“We didn’t defend them when we needed to,” said Jones. “We had a lead, then we needed to get stops. We didn’t get any stops.”
For the second-straight Saturday, MSU yielded a transcendent individual performance by a visiting player. Seven days before, it was Georgia guard J.J. Frazier pouring in a career-high 37 points in a 72-66 win. This time, it was LSU power forward Jordan Mickey enjoying the spotlight, as the 6-foot-9, 230-pounder put up a monstrous double-double with 25 points and 20 rebounds. But unlike Frazier’s gem, Mickey’s was all in vain, as the Bulldogs fought through the dominant individual performance to pull out a much-needed win.
“In our last two games, we felt like we gave them away,” said MSU point guard I.J. Ready, who scored 12 points to be one of four MSU players in double figures. “We really focused on that in practice. We wanted to make sure we played 40 minutes, not 29 or 30. I looked around and told all our guys that big-time players make big-time plays.”
Fred Thomas listened.
After struggling mightily at Ole Miss in an 0-for-6 showing and scoring just five points in the first half against LSU, Thomas exploded in the second half and led MSU with 13 points after the break. That included a two-handed slam dunk in traffic midway through the half that gave MSU a brief one-point lead and brought a Humphrey Coliseum crowd of 6,657 to its feet.
“That got me going right there,” said Thomas of the dunk. “Coach is always telling me to be more aggressive, and that was going through my mind.”
Afterward, Thomas’s big second half had his coach in a joking mood.
“I would pay someone a lot of money if they would come in here and figure out the enigma that is Fred Thomas,” said Ray. “I’ve told him before that all we want is consistency. We can’t have 18 points one night, then zero the next. I told him to pick a number and stick with that. Obviously, we need Fred Thomas to play like he did in the second half.”
On the day, MSU held LSU, the SEC’s highest-scoring team, to just 37 percent shooting from the floor. Outside of Mickey, who connected on 11 of his 18 shots, LSU’s remaining players hit on just 15 of their 49 attempts from the field. And while LSU shooting guard Keith Hornsby delivered a trio of three-points to finish with 15 points, the Tigers connected on just four of 23 attempts from three-point range.
“I thought our zone was the biggest difference,” said Ray. “You’ve got to be careful when you play zone against a team like LSU, because Hornsby is such a good shooter. But I thought our zone really put them on their heels a bit.”
Conversely, MSU’s offense made 50 percent (12 of 24) shots in the second half, and converted 23 of its 35 free throw attempts.
Thomas was particularly efficient, making five of eight from the field and adding a perfect seven-for-seven performance from the charity stripe.
“I was feeling good,” said Thomas. “To me, I feel like I bring energy to the table, defensive intensity. But today I brought scoring and we got the win.”
It’s a win that has seemed to be inevitable for the Bulldogs. After enduring a dreadful 1-6 stretch in December and then dropping their first three SEC games. That three-week period included a four-point loss at Texas A&M, a six-point home loss to Georgia, and a six-point loss at Ole Miss. Against LSU, the Bulldogs finally turned the corner.
“We’ve been taking strides and becoming a better basketball team since the Vanderbilt game,” said Ready. “This was our sixth good game in a row, we were ready to get over the hump. We played together, shared the ball. It was a team win.”
For the game, point guard Josh Gray was LSU’s third player in double digits with 13 points.
Behind the 18-point outburst from Thomas, junior guard Craig Sword scored 14 for the Bulldogs, his second big game in a row after scoring a season-high 27 at Ole Miss. Ready and junior forward Gavin Ware each scored 12 points.
Ware and Johnson shared the team lead with 10 rebounds each.
MSU will now hit the road for a pair of games, traveling to face Tennessee on Tuesday before heading to Arkansas on Saturday.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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