STARKVILLE – In consecutive years, Mississippi State coach Ben Howland compared the confrontation of Frank Martin’s teams in South Carolina to a root canal.
If the results of this season’s two-game series are true, Bulldogs won’t be needing dental treatment anytime soon.
For the second time this month, the Bulldogs dominated Gamecocks on the boards and stifled their offensive attack, winning a 69-48 dispute on Wednesday at the Humphrey Coliseum. Looking at the statistics sheet, Mississippi State coach Ben Howland smiled with joy as he noticed that his team kept South Carolina with 29 percent of shots and 4 of 21 beyond the arc.
“We passed the ball well and made an excellent save,” said Howland. “… We really built our momentum (Saturday’s win against Ole Miss).”
After being destroyed by 46-30 on the glass on February 6 in Columbia, the rebound battle in the rematch was even worse for the Gamecocks. Perhaps a 49-24 rebound disparity is courtesy of an extremely dedicated attacking court from MSU, which plays a tenacious defense on the post. Or perhaps the negative effects of South Carolina (5-12, 3-10 SEC), now losing six games in a row and seven out of the last eight, have somewhat undermined the will of Gamecock players. After all, Martin told his team last week that if he were one of the players’ teammates, he would be the least-liked athlete in the locker room.
Whatever the reason, the Bulldogs (13-11, 7-8) have won consecutive games at the Southeast Conference only for the second time this season and will not apologize for it.
“The reason for this is our defense,” Howland said of the growing disparity. “When you play defense like that, you have a good chance of hitting the wrong kicks.”
It wasn’t as spectacular as his 29-point performance at Columbia, but DJ Stewart was up 15 points to lead MSU. Stewart, mostly a two guard, has been used at the point over and over as the season progresses and showed a 5 to 1 turnover assist on Wednesday.
“Everything I can do to help the team,” said Stewart, adding that he served as a point guard at the school.
Abdul Ado was the only other two-digit Bulldog with 11, but Tolu Smith came close to a double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds.
“We are a young team, so going through adversity is great for getting to know our team as a unit,” said Smith. “Going through ups and downs is good for getting into big games like Alabama towards the conference tournament.”
MSU decided to start Deivon Smith as a point guard instead of starting Iverson Molinar, because Molinar was a few minutes late for a team bond this week. Howland said Molinar is rarely late for any team role in his two years with the team, but the sixth-year coach preached the importance of “managing a well-managed ship”. Molinar scored nine points in 21 minutes of action and will be reinstated on the starting lineup on Saturday, Howland said. On the other hand, two shipowners on the South Carolina list did not even make the trip to Starkville.
“That was definitely a factor,” said Howland.
In the meantime, the state of Mississippi beat South Carolina 38-23 thanks to a 26-11 advantage on the boards and keeping Gamecocks with 26 percent kicks from the ground. The Bulldogs led the Gamecocks for nearly 38 minutes of play on Wednesday, without fearing the outcome was in doubt.
MSU is back in action against Alabama at 5 pm on Saturday at the Humphrey Coliseum. Although Crimson Tide is at the top of the SEC, the winner in the last seven games of the MSU-Alabama series was the home team.
DAWG NOTES: Earlier this week, Howland told reporters that he hopes the postponed road showdown with Auburn will be made up for on March 6. postponement of the season.