STARKVILLE — In Mississippi State’s home slate, the Bulldogs have followed a very consistent formula.
Let an underdog hang around the opening half. Cling to a narrow lead at halftime. Use a big run to eventually pull away and secure a win.
Rinse and repeat.
That formula held true for MSU’s fourth home game at Humphrey Coliseum, as the Bulldogs led winless Central Arkansas (0-6) by four points at halftime but eventually pulled away after the break and delivered a 81-65 victory over the visiting Bears on Wednesday.
“To start the second half, I really implored our guys to come out and play hard to start the half because we did not do that as well against Dayton,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “You have to really come out and set the tone. We have done a good job in second halves here at home.”
The Bulldogs (4-3), who never trailed all night, received a balanced effort as four players finished in double figures. Fresh off a career-high 32 points in a double overtime loss to Dayton, redshirt sophomore D.J. Stewart led the team with 17 points on a 7-of-13 shooting effort. Stewart came into the contest averaging around 19 points per game.
“I thought D.J. had an incredible game tonight,” Howland said. “He shot it really well and really played smart.”
While Stewart’s performance seemed to be business as usual, his teammate delivered a performance that could indicate progress worth watching going forward. Making his first start of the year, senior graduate transfer Jalen Johnson finished with 15 points, converting three 3-pointers and six free throws.
“When I got out there, I really wanted to make a great first impression starting with Bulldog nation,” Johnson said after the win.
The Louisiana transfer was first informed of his new role on the bus ride back to Starkville on Saturday following the double overtime loss to Dayton. Johnson replaced freshman forward Cameron Matthews, who had been in the starting lineup for the first six contests. Howland’s only regret after making the move was taking six games to do it.
“He made me look really stupid that I wasn’t starting him earlier,” Howland said. “It’s obvious he’s a huge difference for our team offensively to have him out there spacing the floor.”
Other players with double digit point totals included Iverson Molinar (14) and Tolu Smith (10 points, 10 rebounds for his third double-double). Seven MSU players chipped in at least five points and the Bulldogs outrebounded UCA 41-33.
“In the second half, I felt like we were a lot more aggressive defensively,” Smith said. “We didn’t have much foul trouble, so we didn’t have any problem being aggressive.”
MSU opened the game on an 8-0 run, but only took a 39-35 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs outscored the Bears, who finished a three-game Southeastern Conference road trip with three double-digit losses, by 12 points in the second half.
Poor free throw shooting has been the ruin of the Bulldogs in two of their three losses this season, but MSU rectified that for one night by turning in a 13-of-19 performance from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs shot 47.5 percent from the floor and held Central Arkansas to 39.3 percent from the floor.
MSU is back in action against Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m. Monday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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