Bulldog defense leads to big second half in 83-59 win over Central Michigan in Jackson
JACKSON – For a third-straight game, Mississippi State was off to a rocky start shortly after tipoff.
Playing inside Jackson’s Mississippi Coliseum, the Bulldogs were rusty in the first half and leading by seven against Central Michigan, but a halftime adjustment saw a determined team in the second.
The Bulldogs ran out to a 16-0 run in the first few minutes of the final stanza and rolled to a 83-59 victory.
“It’s always defense at the half,” Claudell Harris Jr. said of the halftime message. “We always preach point of attack and getting to the ball. Having great help and keeping our head on a swivel.”
The slow start on Tuesday night included the Bulldogs falling behind 7-1 in the early minutes thanks to several empty possessions. Though State would ultimately get the lead and build it to 13 at one point in the first half, the lead would shrink back to 32-25 at the break.
In the first 4 minutes out of the locker room, State’s stifling defense led to breakaway scores and some production possessions to build a 16-0 run. That sent the lead to 46-25 and the Bulldogs were off to the races from there.
“We didn’t play bad defense in the first half,” head coach Chris Jans said. “We hadn’t turned them over and that was something we were disappointed in. We had some turnovers to start the second half with guys being more aggressive. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to stay with it.”
It was a well-played ball game for State by the end of the game. The Bulldogs shot 49% (35-of-71) from the field and made 38% of threes (11-of-29). MSU had just five turnovers in the game with two in the second half. Meanwhile, the Bulldog defense forced 11 turnovers and scored 16 points off of those.
State outrebounded the Chippewas 42-34 and had a 44-16 advantage in the paint with 24 assists on the 35 made baskets.
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Harris put together a big night with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and he made 5-of-8 3-pointers. The Boston College transfer made four of those threes in the first half when the Bulldogs were struggling to hit from the outside.
Center Michael Nwoko continues to blossom for the Bulldogs in the post and he finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds. It was the second 18-point game for Nwoko in the last couple of weeks after he notched it against Pittsburgh as well.
“I’m going back to trusting my teammates and letting the ball get back to me,” Nwoko said. “I feel like it’s the big thing of playing the game as hard as I can every time.”
Josh Hubbard was relatively cold going 4-for-12 from the field but he had 11 points. Though Cameron Matthews didn’t score a point in the game, the senior filled up the stat sheet with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Up Next
The win improved the Bulldogs to 10-1 on the year ahead of a massive game on Saturday. State travels to the Fed Ex Forum to take on No. 21 Memphis (8-2). The showdown with the Tigers is at 11:30 a.m. on CBS and gives the Bulldogs a chance to test themselves again before a gauntlet of an SEC schedule.
“Ready or not, we’re going to get a taste of it Saturday,” Jans said. “We’re going to be on the road against a Memphis team that’s having a wonderful year, that’s got great numbers and it’s going to be a Quad I opportunity all year long. We’re going to find out soon enough.”
