STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Ben Howland called the 12 offensive rebounds his team allowed Wednesday to Detroit Mercy “a disappointment.”
He was nothing but pleased with his team’s turnaround in that category just four days later.
The Bulldogs (4-0) racked up 14 offensive rebounds to just four for visiting Morehead State (2-3), winning the battle on the glass 44-21 in all and pulling away for a 66-46 victory at Humphrey Coliseum.
“I was really excited,” Howland said. “When you win the battle of the boards by 23, you have a good chance.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 37-18 after halftime, holding Morehead State to 6-of-23 shooting (26.1 percent) in the period while making more than 60 percent of their own shots.
“I’m excited about the second half,” Howland said. “It was really a tale of two halves.”
Mississippi State headed into the halftime break ahead by just one point after Morehead State sank six 3-pointers in the first half. The Eagles scored just 18 points in the second half on 6-of-23 shooting, including a 2-of-12 period from deep. Mississippi State, meanwhile, shot 30 of 62 (49.1 percent) from the field and made five of its 13 3-point attempts.
“I thought at the beginning of the game we came out very uncharacteristically, jacking up quick shots and playing way too fast offensively,” Howland said. “We’ve got to be more understanding of good shot/bad shot.”
But the Bulldogs’ defense cracked down to hold the Eagles scoreless for more than four minutes at the start of the second half. Mississippi State led by nine points by the time Tray Hollowell broke a scoreless stretch of five minutes and 57 seconds for the visitors.
Morehead State cut the lead to six twice in the next few minutes, but the Bulldogs’ bench unit snapped into action after Johni Broome’s jumper made it a 43-37 contest. Andersson García made a short jumper and fed Javian Davis for a dunk; the Dominican wing later got the roll on a jumper in the lane before Davis dropped in a hook shot, pushing Mississippi State’s lead into double digits.
“I thought both Javian Davis and Andersson García gave us great minutes off the bench,” Howland said. “Those two guys were key for us today. It’s so important to have great depth.”
García made a layup to stretch the advantage to 12 points, and the Eagles never got back to 10 nor any closer. A layup by Jeffries inside the final minute made the final margin of victory 20 points.
Only six Mississippi State players scored, but those who did had significant impacts. Four finished in double figures: Iverson Molinar led all scorers with 15 points, Shakeel Moore and D.J. Jeffries had 13 apiece, and Garrison Brooks had 11.
Off the bench, Garcia had eight points, and Davis had six.
It was the third win for the Bulldogs by 20 points or more, including victories over North Alabama and Montana. All four of Mississippi State’s games have been double-digit victories.
The sizable margin seemed unlikely when the Eagles began a barrage of 3s late in the first half. Trailing 20-11, Morehead State tied the game on triples by Ta’lon Cooper, Skyelar Potter and Drew Thelwell. Two more 3s by Hollowell and Cooper put the visitors on top 26-24.
But the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead on Shakeel Moore’s stepback 3 from just to the left of the top of the key with 36 seconds to play in the first half. The shot followed a putback layup from Javian Davis, giving Mississippi State a 29-28 halftime advantage.
“It was big,” Molinar said. “We were down, and we of course didn’t want to finish the first half down.”
It was all the momentum Mississippi State needed for its second-half surge. The Bulldogs have held serve on their home court for the first four games, and now they’ll hit the road.
MSU will take on Louisville (3-1) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Baha Mar Hoops tournament in Nassau, Bahamas. The Bulldogs will play either Richmond or Maryland on Saturday to close out the event.
“We’ve just got to keep building off this,” Molinar said.
Dawg notes
Guard Rocket Watts played in his second game since recovering from offseason hip surgery … Watts went 0 for 2 from the field with an assist, a rebound and two turnovers in 14 minutes … Forward Tolu Smith dressed out and warmed up with the team Sunday for the first time this season. Howland said Smith, who underwent foot surgery earlier this fall for a stress fracture, had practiced in the halfcourt twice prior to Sunday’s game. Smith will take part in full-court practice Tuesday. “He’s getting closer to hopefully getting back out there on the floor,” Howland said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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