BASKETBALL BULLDOGS SNEAK PAST DETROIT, RUN WIN STREAK TO TEN GAMES
DETROIT,
Mich . – Rodney Hood’s baseline jumper broke a late tie as the
Mississippi State men’s basketball team posted an impressive 80-75 win
over Detroit Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall. The
17th-ranked Bulldogs won their 10th straight to move to 11-1 overall.
For MSU, it was their first true road victory of the season. Horizon
League member Detroit fell to 5-8. Traditionally tough at Calihan Hall,
Detroit had dropped an eight-point decision at Alabama earlier in the
week.
“This is a sweet win,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “When you look
back in March, it will be an even sweeter win. We beat a good team on
their home floor today. I am really proud of the guys for stepping up
and making plays at the end of the game.” After
battling through some injuries, the Bulldogs were finally back at full
force Saturday. Still, MSU had to work through Rodney Hood with massive
foul trouble and Renardo Sidney with a stomach virus. For
MSU, Arnett Moultrie and Brian Bryant, each of whom missed Monday’s win
over Florida Atlantic, paced the Bulldogs with 17 points apiece.
Moultrie also pulled down 13 rebounds for his Southeastern
Conference-best sixth double-double of the season. For Bryant, his
afternoon matched a season-high in points. Also in double figures were
Sidney with 16 points and Dee Bost with 13 points.
“Brian really gave us a spark off the bench today,” Stansbury said.
“Renardo was sick today but he really gave us all he could. Rodney is a
freshman and he really struggled to find a rhythm today because the
foul trouble. But he steps up and makes a big shot.
“We have a one-point lead late, Arnett drives to the goal, gets a foul,
goes to the line and makes the free throws. Those are game-winning
plays. It was great to see our guys find a way to step up and make
those plays.” The
Bulldogs scored 10 straight points to take a 15-7 lead with 13:04 left
in the first half. MSU would not trail again in the contest. However,
the Titans battled back for force three first-half ties. After MSU
built a 15-point lead in the game’s final half, the Titans again fought
back for two more ties but could not turn the corner.
“You knew they would make runs at you,” Stansbury said. “It was all a
matter of how you respond. We out-rebound them by five in the contest
and only make eight turnovers. Those are the key statistics in the
game.” Down
15-7, the Titans bounced back with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to
18-17. Back-to-back baskets by Bryant ran the lead back to five before
the Titans managed to pull even at 31. A jumper by Sidney and dunk by
Sidney pushed the Maroon and White to a 39-36 lead at halftime. To
start the second half, MSU found another gear in the Motor City. A 15-3
run over the first four minutes of the half ran the MSU advantage to
54-39. Bost, Sidney and Jalen Steele each hit 3-point baskets during
the run. Still,
Detroit refused to go away. A 12-2 run quickly chipped the lead to
56-51. Again down 10, the Titans pieced together a 12-3 run to close
within 66-65. The teams were then tied at 70 and 75. Hood’s
go-ahead jumper fell through with 17.7 seconds left. Moultrie then had
a monster block which led to a rebound by Bost. Bost hit both free
throws after being fouled. Moultrie then hit one of two foul shots with
three seconds left to close out the win. For
the contest, the Bulldogs hit 30 of 61 shots from the field (49.2
percent), 8 of 24 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 12 of 19
shots from the foul line (63.2 percent). The Titans hit 26 of 59 shots
from the field (44.1 percent), 7 of 20 shots from 3-point range (35.0
percent) and 16 of 21 shots from the foul line (76.2 percent).
MSU held a 38-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 17 assists and
eight turnovers, while the Titans had 12 assists and nine turnovers. Detroit
received 17 points each from Chase Simon and Horizon League Player of
Year candidate Ray McCallum. Doug Anderson had 13 points, while Eli
Holman had 12 points for the Titans.
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