Bulldogs snap skid with dominating win over Cyclones

MSU led by double figures for most of the game

STARKVILLE, Miss. – When you're on a three-game losing streak, you'll surely take all the breaks you can get in order to return to the win column. Well on Saturday, Mississippi State sure didn't seem to mind taking advantage of a struggling Iowa State team with a roster far from full strength. 

The Bulldogs rolled past the Cyclones in dominating fashion at Humphrey Coliseum. MSU topped Iowa State 95-56 as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It marked Mississippi State's first victory since topping Florida back on January 16.

"We just had to stop the bleeding," MSU's Tolu Smith said. "It's a great feeling."

It had been a frustrating previous 14 days for MSU since their last victory prior to Saturday. The Bulldogs lost in lopsided fashion to instate rival Ole Miss then, despite being competitive, lost to a pair of nationally-ranked foes on the road in defeats at Alabama and Tennessee. 

Iowa State gave MSU the perfect opportunity to snap its three-game skid. The Cyclones came to Starkville without the services of three starters due to what the team termed health and safety protocols. Iowa State had already lost its previous four games and eight of its first 10 this season. The Bulldogs (10-8) then commenced to kicking the Cyclones (2-9) while they were down, even though coming in, MSU wasn't sure just how down Iowa State was about to be.

"The players didn't know (Iowa State) was missing key guys until right before the game because we didn't know," MSU head coach Ben Howland said. "We didn't learn for sure who was going to play and wasn't going to play until literally 10 minutes before the game."

(CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF HOWLAND'S FULL POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE)

Tre Jackson, Javan Johnson and Solomon Young all missed the contest for Iowa State. Johnson and Young both average 12 points a game or more for the Cyclones. 

With Iowa State missing some of its standouts, MSU dominated at every turn. The Bulldogs shot 51 percent as a team and were 42 percent as a unit from three-point range. They out-rebounded the Cyclones by seven and had 11 fewer turnovers than Iowa State. Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Cyclones to just 34 percent shooting.

MSU never trailed after taking a 5-3 lead with 17:14 remaining in the first half. With 8:54 left in the first half, the Bulldogs took a double-digit lead and maintained it the rest of the game.

Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Iverson Molinar's 20 points. D.J. Stewart tallied 17 and Tolu Smith scored 16. Deivon Smith added 10 off the bench and narrowly missed a double-double as he also had nine assists.

Given the lopsided score, plenty of other Bulldogs got to contribute to the win as well. A total of 15 MSU players saw action. Jalen Johnson, Quinten Post, Andersson Garcia and Derek Fountain all joined Deivon Smith as bench players to score five or more points in the game. 

"All these kids that got in, they're all really important for our team," Howland said. "We have a really good group of young men on this year's team and I'm really, really proud of them for how supportive they are for one another each and every day."

And now, all of those Bulldogs can head into the month of February on a winning note after the difficulties of the latter half of January. 

It'll be difficult for MSU to maintain its newfound momentum. The Bulldogs' next test comes on Tuesday as State heads to Arkansas to battle a Razorbacks team that had won three in a row before falling on Saturday. MSU and Arkansas are set for an 8 p.m. central tip on Tuesday.

As the Bulldogs get set for the Razorbacks, they can do so knowing they're now looking to create a streak of a more positive kind than the one they were riding coming into Saturday.

"Just glad to get a win and get back on the winning ways as we head out for another road game here on Tuesday," Howland said.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES

MSU guard Deivon Smith

See top of this page for MSU forward Tolu Smith

CLICK HERE for MSU head coach Ben Howland

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