STARKVILLE – Mississippi State freshman King Grace’s throwdown dunk at the end of the first half was a tone setter for his team’s victory over Alabama State on Monday.
“Really it was just exciting for me to get out there, get my legs loose,” Grace said. “A great feeling.”
The freshman guard got an opportunity to play in the three spot with MSU’s forwards alternating through foul trouble, and he took full advantage with a breakout performance. He finished second on the team in scoring behind Josh Hubbard’s 22-point performance, scoring 14 on 6-9 shooting and bagging a pair of threes in a dominant 94-56 win.
Grace hasn’t had a lot of time on the court over the past month of the season, but a strong end to nonconference play signalled a show of confidence from his head coach that he is beginning to adjust to the college game.
“It’s been a big adjustment,” Grace said. “The traveling, film, and daily grind of college itself has been a lot, but I think that I’ve adjusted to it. It’s almost normal now.”
“I’m happy for him, happy he had success out there,” head coach Chris Jans said. “He put the ball in the basket, a couple nice drives, made a three. He continues to grow. He’s learning every day, he’s a great young man, and obviously, he’s got a great basketball body. He’s got some pop to him, could knock it down, and hopefully this will just continue to be a part of his journey, and hopefully give him some confidence going forward.”
All in all, it was a good night for the Bulldogs, and one that the team hasn’t produced often this season. With several close calls and several forgettable losses during the season’s first month, the team appears to be turning a corner. They’ve improved to 8-5 on the season with five wins in their last six in December.
“I said in the locker room to the coaches that we hadn’t had a stress-free win this season that I could recall,” Jans said after the game. “It was nice to have one, we didn’t have a lot of stress. We got off to a great start. They made that running three-point shot going into halftime, which took away a bit of momentum, but other than that, even considering how liberally we subbed, I thought the guys that were out there continued to play Bulldog basketball.”
The win saw 12 Bulldogs get into the game, with 10 seeing shots go in and four hitting double digits. Achor Achor scored 11 in one of his better performances, and Sergej Macura posted nine points from 4-4 shooting.
The forward pair have gone through some growing pains, but the end product is beginning to show after another efficient night for both players. They’re answering the call of their head coach, who has been asking for players to step up and prove themselves, and are offering an answer at a position that had a lot of unanswered questions coming into the season.
“This team continues to grow and progress, and we tweaked offensively what we’re trying to do and have certain individuals accept the roles that we feel puts them in their best position, which in turn puts our team in the best position,” Jans said when asked about the positive play at forward. “Some guys are doing it, our offense has gotten better because of it.”
The lone loss for the Bulldogs in December came in Tupelo against San Francisco, and it was an emotionally taxing experience. The game saw Josh Hubbard go down after rolling his ankle, and the rest of the squad spent the second half chasing the game down, only to lose in the final seconds. What the players have called “the little things” cost them the game, but they haven’t wasted time dwelling on it.
At the time, it felt like the season was crashing down around the team, but a four-game winning streak since then has the team looking up going into SEC play. Comeback wins over Utah and Long Island, and a confident closeout to beat Memphis were signs of growth.
“I think we came together and said, as a team, we can’t let the little things be the reason we don’t win games,” Grace said of the San Francisco game. “The first three steps being a jog, or not getting a 50-50 ball. We just decided the little things can’t keep us from what we want. It’s just giving a little bit more for every player.”
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