Bulldogs rout Bethune-Cookman in Tolu Smith's season debut

Mississippi State entered the last non-conference game expecting little trouble from Bethune-Cookman. The Bulldogs did roll to an expected 85-62 blowout of the visiting Wildcats but the game held a lot of significance.

Sunday’s outing marked the return of preseason All-SEC center Tolu Smith and the Bulldog senior wasted little time finding a rhythm. Smith led State with 16 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes of action, including 12 first-half points. Smith suffered a late-summer foot injury and missed State’s first 12 games of the season.

“Good to have him back,” head coach Chris Jans said of Smith. “We’re all excited for him today, certainly didn’t know how he would play. But got off to a great start, didn’t miss a shot from the field and missed one free throw.

“I thought it was interesting as the game unfolded. It wasn’t us telling them and they knew to throw him the ball when he was open. They made a concerted effort to get him the ball. We are always trying to play inside-out for the most part. But I thought we had some (emphasis) on the post today that we hadn’t been doing and that was strictly on their own.”

Smith was 5 of 5 from the field and 6 of 7 at the foul line in his season debut. He returned to full-go in practice a couple of weeks ago and noted of his conditioning after the win.

“I feel good,” Smith mentioned. “Just got to keep getting better, keep getting back in game shape. It’s a difference in practice-shape and game-shape. The more games I play, obviously, I am going to get in better shape.”

Dashawn Davis had 12 points for the Bulldogs (11-2) while Josh Hubbard and Shakeel Moore had 11 and 10 points, respectively. DJ Jeffries and Trey Fort each had nine points for State while Cameron Matthews had six steals and six assists.

Jakobi Heady had 16 to lead Bethune-Cookman (5-8) while Dhashon Dyson and Hollinger Carter had 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Fort had struggled of late from the perimeter but on Sunday, he gave the team a needed boost of confidence with a 3 of 6 showing from 3 point range.

“Pretty good,” said Fort of his confidence. “Especially just being able to be there and to help my team, just being there for them and being a great teammate. They were great teammates to me, as well, motivating me to hit a couple of shots and keep my confidence. I need to continue to hit those shots and play on both ends of the floor.”

For the game, State shot 53% from the field and made 12 of 27 behind the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 19 of 24 at the foul line and held a 34-33 rebounding edge. The Wildcats shot 42% from the floor and 4 of 16 from 3 point territory while both teams had 16 turnovers.

State jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the opening minutes as Smith checked in for the first time at the 15:30 mark of the first half, much to the pleasure of State fans at Humphrey Coliseum.

“So I told myself I was going to have no jitters when I got in,” recalled Smith. “When I got in there was like a little roar (from the crowd) when I walked on (the court) and I had a little chill. But Coach Jans made sure I locked in.”

Bethune-Cookman managed to cut the deficit to 25-18 later in the half before Smith and the Bulldogs closed the half on a 15-4 run. Smith had 11 first-half points and State led 41-22 at halftime.

The Bulldogs shot 58% in the opening half and made 5 of 14 beyond the 3 point arc. State was 8 of 10 at the foul line and outrebounded Bethune-Cookman 19-14 in the first half. State also had nine first-half turnovers.

Bethune-Cookman shot just 32% in the first half and made just 1 of 8 from 3 point range. The Wildcats were just 1 of 4 at the charity stripe and had seven turnovers in the first half.

The Bulldogs now shift their focus to the start of SEC play and State opens that rugged slate on the road. State begins SEC action Saturday at South Carolina in an 11 a.m. tipoff on CBS.