STARKVILLE — In its first game without freshman point guard IJ Ready, Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Rick Ray thought his team survived well enough with junior Trivante Bloodman and redshirt freshman Jacoby Davis.
The duo, which will have to split the playing time after Ready suffered a severe strain of his hamstring last week, combined to score 15 points, hand out five assists, and commit just one turnover Tuesday night in a 94-82 victory against Mississippi Valley State at Humphrey Coliseum.
“I think anybody that looks at Trivante Bloodman now as compared to last year can see he’s developed,” Ray said. “Trivante is light years away from where he was last year in terms of taking care of the basketball.”
MVSU’s quick and aggressive guards challenged Bloodman and Davis. The MSU duo had to work through several defensive looks, including a 1-3-1 full-court trap that forced MSU to find its point guard to initiate the offense.
“I think we did great in getting our bigs the ball tonight and not being rattled when they came with pressure,” Bloodman said. “Our job is to get everybody into the offense, and then the ball movement of the motion should take care of itself.”
Davis, a former shooting guard at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., scored his first points at MSU Tuesday. He finished with six points in 13 minutes.
“Trivante and Jacoby are so different, and that’s good for our team,” Ray said. “Jacoby is a outside threat in terms of shooting, and he’ll get some of his shots from others helping on drives and not being able to close out on him for open looks.”
Sword receives technical, sits for final 17 minutes
MSU ‘s Craig Sword was having the potential for a season-best evening before the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard lost his emotions and immediately lost his playing time.
Sword hit five mid-range jump shots and scored 10 points in the first half. But already in foul trouble, Sword went nose to nose with Mississippi Valley State forward James Currington after a hard foul. The verbal sparring resulted in double technicals for both players. Ray removed Sword from the game and didn’t put him back into the game in the final 17 minutes. After the game, Ray said he wasn’t sending a message, but he said technical fouls aren’t accepted in his program.
“If you’re going to do that, you can’t be helping our team win games, so it’s really that simple,” Ray said.
Ray recognizes tough test at Utah State
Ray looked at his non-conference schedule last year and knew one game had to be changed. With his program already committed to playing in the Maui Invitational against high-profile opponents like North Carolina and Texas, Ray knew a previously agreed upon contract for the back half of a home-and-home series against mid-major power Utah State would have to wait.
A pair of Dee Bost free throws with 34 seconds remaining lifted MSU past Utah State 66-64 on Dec. 31, 2011, at The Hump. MSU survived an afternoon in which neither team led by more than nine points, there were 11 ties, and nine lead changes.
This weekend, MSU will make its first trip to Logan, Utah, and try to do what most programs have found impossible: win at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. In the past 14 years with Stew Morrill as coach, Utah State is 206-17 at home. In that period, the Aggies are 105-10 against league opponents and 101-7 in non-conference games.
“I’m not sure if this is just me, but I’ve never worried about road games,” Ray said. “If you start telling guys the difference between playing on the road or at home, then they start thinking that, too. It’s a 94-foot court, 10-foot hoop. It’s basketball.”
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
