Bulldogs dominate inside to down Delta Devils

STARKVILLE, Miss. – As Mississippi State wrapped up the non-conference portion of its basketball schedule on Monday night with a win over Mississippi Valley State, the Bulldogs' victory was powered from the paint.

The Bulldogs rolled to an 87-48 triumph over the Delta Devils in a game where MSU wasn't always completely crisp, but State did dominate on the inside, outscoring MVSU 38-6 in the paint. The Bulldogs also convincingly out-rebounded the Delta Devils 47-24.

"(MVSU) had two players out," Howland said. "Their starting four man (Kam'Ron) Cunningham was out with an injury. Then they had a kid who was slated to be eligible that transferred from Louisiana who didn't play who's a five man that averaged nine (points) and seven (rebounds) playing on the same team as (MSU's) Jalen Johnson.

"For us, we're going to have the advantage a lot of the time inside with our size and we're going to have to take advantage of it."

Take advantage MSU did. Perhaps no Bulldog was better near the basket than Tolu Smith. The redshirt sophomore forward notched his fourth double-double of the season as he scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Four other MSU players tallied double figures in scoring, led by Iverson Molinar's 18 points. D.J. Stewart scored 15 for the Bulldogs while Jalen Johnson and Quinten Post accounted for 10 apiece.

It was a contest that was never in doubt, but still, the Bulldogs weren't exactly clicking on all cylinders all the way through. MSU (5-3) once again had some trouble at the free-throw line, making just 12 of 22 shots from the charity stripe. State has now made just under 58 percent of its foul shots this season. The Bulldogs also had 13 turnovers.

MVSU (0-8) shot only 31 percent for the game, but the Delta Devils did sink 10 of their 39 3-point attempts to at least stay within shouting distance of State before things got out of hand.

"They were playing us tough," Howland said of MVSU. "I thought their game plan to be really patient offensively really kept them in the game."

Despite the hiccups, State led the Delta Devils by double figures for the final 5:37 of the first half and then pulled away after halftime.

And when the final buzzer sounded, the non-conference slate was complete for MSU. Next up for State? The Southeastern Conference opener at Georgia on December 30.

While it has been an up-and-down first few games this year, the Bulldogs believe they are ready for league play.

"I feel good about our team," Howland said. "I feel good about our improvements. I feel like we're playing pretty good defense. I think we're getting better offensively.

"Bottom line is the SEC is a whole new season. Everything starts over in terms of SEC play. And once it starts, it never stops. (18 conference) games and they're coming at you."

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES

MSU head coach Ben Howland

MSU forward Tolu Smith

MSU forward Quinten Post

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