DJ Stewart has emphasized in recent weeks the importance of having a short-term memory. As the Mississippi State Guard and his teammates went through difficult times, Stewart tried to forget all of that and move on.
On Saturday, he practiced what he was preaching. In the wake of one of his worst games of the season earlier in the week against Arkansas, Stewart recovered from one of his best games on Saturday. He scored 29 points to help Bulldogs win 75-59 on the road in South Carolina.
“DJ was fantastic,” said coach Ben Howland. “He really played very well.”
(CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE HOWLAND POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE. SEE THE VIDEO ABOVE THE STEWART POST-GAME MEDIA SESSION. SEE BELOW FOR FORWARD DEREK FOUNTAIN’S.)
Stewart was just three points behind to tie the high point of his career. He hit 10 of his 17 pitches, including hitting 4 out of 6 in the three-point range. All of this came after he scored eight points, the lowest of the season, in the MSU’s loss to the Razorbacks on Tuesday. Stewart’s performance couldn’t have come at a much better time for the Bulldogs.
“We lost four games (at the conference) in a row, so our backs were against the wall,” said Stewart. “We were at the bottom of the well, so when you are at the bottom of the well, there was only one way to go up. So, we kept fighting and we got this W.”
While Stewart played the leading role in MSU’s victory, he had support in the form of a familiar face and a rising newcomer. Guard mate Iverson Molinar continued his stellar season with a 16-point display. He also had four rebounds and four assists.
Then there was newcomer Derek Fountain. The youngster scored nine points and had four rebounds, easily setting a career record with 29 minutes of action.
Prior to this week, Fountain had not played in a game for more than five minutes throughout the year. But he saw 10 minutes on the floor in Arkansas and nearly tripled on Saturday as his work ethic forced Howland’s hand.
“It was all about pulling the trigger,” said Howland. “I should have pulled this trigger (and played more at the Fountain) probably about three weeks or a month ago. What is most satisfying to me is that he was at a point (at the beginning of the season) that neither was ours top 10 (guys) Even so, he was always involved in all the practices and always learning. He had a phenomenal attitude … I am very happy to see a guy like that being rewarded.
Stewart, Molinar and Fountain’s game allowed MSU to remain in control for much of Saturday’s game. The Bulldogs (11-9, 5-6) were ahead for almost 29 of the game’s 40 minutes of action.
South Carolina (5-7, 3-5) gave a scare. Gamecocks fought a 12-point handicap to take a two-point lead at the start of the second half. But MSU struggled, moved up 10 with 10:54 remaining and led by double digits the rest of the way.
The state dominated South Carolina in most of the statistical categories. Bulldogs outperformed Gamecocks by 46% to 31% and outperformed South Carolina by 46-30. Turnover was again a problem for MSU, as it has been lately. The Bulldogs had 21 of them, but they were able to overcome that. As a result, MSU finally has reason to smile again at the SEC game.
State will try to keep up the good vibes on Wednesday. That’s when Bulldogs host LSU at 8pm.
POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCES
Advanced MSU Derek Fountain
See the top of this page for the video of the guard MSU DJ Stewart
CLICK HERE to see the video from MSU coach Ben Howland
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