STARKVILLE — Dee Bost, Brian Bryant, Rodney Hood, and Jalen Steele.

Even without Arnett Moultrie and Renardo Sidney in the starting lineup for the second game in a row, Wendell Lewis probably wouldn’t be any higher in the pecking order when it comes to options on offense.

But that’s not going to stop Lewis from bringing his lunch pail and his hard hat to the court and doing whatever he can to help the Mississippi State men’s basketball team win games.

Lewis responded in a big way Friday night, notching career-highs in points (11) and rebounds (11) for his first career double-double in No. 24 MSU’s 76-50 victory against the University of Tennessee at Martin before a crowd of 6,409 at Humphrey Coliseum.

“I don’t really try to score that much,” Lewis said. “I just pass the ball out, but coach (Rick Stansbury) said, ‘I need you to score tonight and to be aggressive in the paint.’ ”

Lewis, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound junior center from Selma, Ala., said he leaves his lunch pail and his hard hat in the locker room before he takes the floor. He hopes to bring that aggressive mentality the rest of the season, especially after not being as active Monday in a victory against the University of Louisiana at Monroe in which he had six points and seven rebounds.

Lewis showed soft touch around the basket Friday by hitting a jump hook shot early in the second half. After scoring three baskets in the first half on layups or dunks, two series in the second half showed his offensive game still has room to grow. He lost the basketball on a baseline drive and then his pass was deflected when he tried to reverse the ball. Four trips later, he had the ball unguarded on the right block and chose to pass it back out. The possession resulted in a turnover.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Lewis said. “I just threw it back out. I didn’t even look behind me. … I didn’t know I was that open.”

Even though Lewis isn’t the team’s most prolific scorer, Stansbury said Lewis will play a key role this season.

“He was much more aggressive against a lot bigger guys,” Stansbury said. “Last game against that zone and those small guys, he wasn’t very aggressive and we got nothing down inside the zone. Tonight, he was much more aggressive. … He played a bunch of minutes and was very steady for us.”

Lewis knows his role and understands he isn’t the team’s first low-post option. He feels he has worked hard on his skills and his mental approach to be more active and to help the Bulldogs by being a jack-of-all-trades player in the paint.

“I just rebound the ball and if I have a chance to score, I score, but most of the time I kick the ball back out,” Lewis said.

Dee Bost and Rodney Hood (career-high four blocked shots) tied for game-high scoring honors with 17 points to help MSU (6-1) win its fifth straight game. DeVille Smith also had a career-high 15 points (on 7-of-10 shooting), three assists, and two steals to help the Bulldogs earn their largest victory of the season. MSU also is off to its best start since the 2004-05 season.

Bost smiled when Lewis was asked if he realized he was wide open when he threw the ball back out. He said Lewis should have plenty of opportunities for double-doubles if he remains as active as he was Friday night.

“He just has to recognize when to go score and when not to score,” Bost said. “Like he sad, he doesn’t try to score, so he really doesn’t recognize it a lot of times.”

MSU led 35-24 at halftime and pulled away thanks to a 68-percent (17 of 25) shooting effort from the field in the second half.

In the first half, Hood also played 19 minutes, while Bryant played 18 and Lewis played 17 as MSU used only seven players. Moultrie was dressed out on the bench, while Sidney was dressed in street clothes on the bench. Sidney also missed the game against South Alabama (groin injury) and the game against ULM (sprained wrist).

Stansbury said after the game that Moultrie could have played in an emergency, and that he would see action at 1:30 p.m. Sunday when MSU plays host to the University of North Texas. He said Sidney’s return is uncertain.

Until both players return, Stansbury said it will be important for Lewis to play like he did in the first half Friday night.

“(His intensity) has been better this season,” Stansbury said. “It started this summer when he was able to go on that European trip and play all of those minutes. It gave him some confidence. I think he is figuring out with this team it doesn’t matter if he starts or not, he is going to play a lot of minutes. His productivity with the amount of minutes he plays is going to be the difference in us winning and losing a lot of basketball games because he has to play minutes for us all season long.”

NOTES: Stansbury also said MSU is still trying to figure out what’s wrong with sophomore guard Shaun Smith, of Noxubee County. He said the team just got the results of a MRI on Smith’s hip and isn’t sure when the 6-6 swingman will be able to take the court. He averaged 3.0 points and 0.8 rebounds on the team’s trip to Europe in the summer. He hasn’t played in a game this season. … Freshman forward Roquez Johnson scored his first point as a Bulldog on a free throw. He played a career-high 13 minutes. … Senior tri-captain Taylor Luczak also hit two free throws for his first two points of the season. … Bost finished with two assists to give him 475 for his career, which leaves him 40 shy of breaking Derrick Zimmerman’s record of 514. He also moved past Erick Dampier into 20th place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,238 points.

Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.