MSU men will try to win again on road

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland has been tinkering with his lineup the last two games.

Howland started Xavian Stapleton at guard over Tyson Carter to get more size on the floor against Alabama in his team’s Southeastern Conference opener. He was forced to start center Schnider Herard for Aric Holman due to disciplinary reasons.

In a 95-78 victory against LSU on Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Howland started Holman, Herard, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mario Kegler, and Lamar Peters. He then went five deep into his bench.

Jones caps high school career with second all-star game

STARKVILLE — Jakoby Jones thought his high school football days were over.

Stapleton provides athletic spark for Bulldogs

STARKVILLE — Xavian Stapleton rotated his body 180 degrees in the air and dunked on Missouri-Kansas City last month.

There was a discussion between media members whether it was a 360- or 180-degree dunk. When Stapleton was asked he said, “I just call those dunks. That’s for y’all to decide.”

Stapleton had two dunks against UMKC and had a reverse dunk against Alabama on Tuesday. Although the Mississippi State sophomore guard has been sidelined for a year and a half, Stapleton’s dunks have been electric, but not as electric as he thinks they could be.

Starkville soccer teams gear up for key district games

STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School boys and girls soccer teams have had to navigate a learning curve with new coaches.

Former Yellow Jacket boys tennis coach Rob Fyke took over as the boys soccer coach, while Patrick Barton assumed the role as the girls coach in the offseason after serving as the assistant coach.

MSU receives good news from Stapleton’s MRI

STARKVILLE — The MRI on the left knee of Mississippi State men’s basketball sophomore guard Xavian Stapleton was negative, a team spokesperson said Wednesday.

Alabama men hold on to beat MSU

STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team gave itself a chance to win in the second half.

After struggling to make shots in the first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs regrouped and erased a 12-point halftime deficit to tie the game midway through the second half.

But Alabama pushed back each time and held on for a 68-58 victory Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Carter comes off bench in loss to Alabama

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland decided to make a change.

Instead of starting freshman guard Tyson Carter, Howland started sophomore Xavian Stapleton on Tuesday against Alabama because he wanted a bigger defensive lineup. But the second-year MSU coach felt the move was a mistake after his team trailed by double digits for the second part of the first half.

West Point’s Murphy decommits from MSU

A day after tweeting, “Gotta make decisions for the future,” West Point High School football player Marcus Murphy announced some big news.

Murphy, who committed to Mississippi State last summer, announced Tuesday on Twitter he was decommitting from MSU to explore other options. The Class of 2018 athlete recently received a scholarship offer from Michigan — his second.

Smith: Starkville High will have new football coach soon

STARKVILLE — Starkville High School Athletic Director Milton Smith expects the search for his school’s next football coach to pick up in the coming days.

With school being out the last couple of weeks due to the Christmas holiday, Smith said the search process hasn’t advanced much since Ricky Woods resigned in November. Smith said 15-20 people have applied for the position, but he said the interview process hasn’t started.

MSU men look to build winning streak

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland said last week he felt his young team was taking steps in the right direction.

Although Howland said he wants the Bulldogs to improve on their rebounding and to get to the free-throw line, he is happy with how his team had meshed together.

Familiar faces Kennedy, White meet tonight

Andy Kennedy has known Michael White for some time.

The Ole Miss men’s basketball coach employed White as an assistant coach from 2006-11 before White left to become head coach at Louisiana Tech in 2011.

Small Schools All-Area: Hamilton finds comfort level on defense at Starkville Academy

STARKVILLE — Torin Hamilton found himself splitting time between offense and defense last season.

MSU men close non-conference play with home win over UMKC

STARKVILLE — Quinndary Weatherspoon grabbed a towel and sat down softly.

MSU men return from Christmas break to face UMKC

STARKVILLE — Midway through his second season, Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland is happy with where his team is.

Johnson leaves MSU for Houston

STARKVILLE — A year after hiring four new defensive coaches, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen will have to hire a new offensive coach this offseason.

MSU quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Houston, new Houston coach Major Applewhite announced Tuesday. Johnson’s hiring comes one day after MSU beat Miami University 17-16 Monday in the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Cohen’s move from baseball coach to AD is MSU’s top story of 2016

STARKVILLE — In a year littered with notable Mississippi State stories, none was bigger than John Cohen.

Cohen began 2016 as the MSU baseball coach. With several upperclassmen, junior college transfers, and freshmen stepping in right away, Cohen led the Bulldogs to a Southeastern Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 1989. He also helped the Bulldogs earn the No. 6 national seed and host a super regional, falling two games short of advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Starkville boys earn forfeit after opponent walks off

STARKVILLE — Raleigh Egypt (Tenn.) High School boys basketball coach Maurice Miller wasn’t going to coach if his assistant coach couldn’t be on the bench with him.

Gay does it on both sides of ball for Starkville

STARKVILLE — Randy Carlisle saw a driven Willie Gay when he came to him in the seventh grade.

A young football player for the Starkville Junior High School team, Carlisle noticed Gay had a driving force behind him and aspirations to play at a higher level than high school.

Carter excited about field for Outlaw tournament

STARKVILLE — Greg Carter had trouble when he started to recruit teams for the Travis Outlaw Slam Dunk at the Hump in 2011.

Carter found it hard to convince teams to come to Starkville to play in a new tournament. But as the tournament has progressed, more and more teams want to come, which has made it easier for the Starkville High School boys basketball coach to fill a schedule for the two-day tournament at Mississippi State’s Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU rallies past Morehead State in men’s basketball

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland didn’t want to go into the Christmas holiday with a loss.