MSU dominates McNeese State
By By Austin Bishop / EMG regional sports director
Dec. 2, 2003
STARKVILLE It was no surprise that Mississippi State found a lot of offensive firepower in Monday night's 92-69 non-conference basketball win over McNeese State.
Where it came from, however, was a little different.
As the Humphrey Coliseum crowd of 4,013 cheered its approval, homestanding MSU lassoed the Cowboys of McNeese with a stifling defense, jumping out to a 38-12 lead with just 13 minutes gone in the game.
That business saw the Bulldogs move to 4-0 on the season as State kicked off a four-game homestand that sees Louisiana-Monroe coming in for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday.
Over the first 12:35 of the game MSU limited McNeese to just 3-of-21 shooting from the field, while the Bulldogs out-rebounded the Cowboys 22-9 during that stretch and dished out 10 assists to none for the visitors from Lake Charles, La.
While Garriet did wind up with 23 points on the night, only six of those came in the first half as the Bulldogs rolled to a 49-24 halftime lead over the 3-2 Cowboys.
Tucker, who came in averaging 17.7 points per game, finished the night with just seven on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Ryan Price scored 15 for McNeese, while Jerrick Oliver added 10.
Timmy Bowers had another big night for the Bulldogs, knocking down his first four shots from the field on the way to a 17-point performance. Fifteen of those came in the first half.
Lawrence Roberts posted his third double-double of the season, pulling down 14 rebounds to go with 10 points. Winsome Frazier, who pumped in 24 points in State's big road win over Western Kentucky on Saturday, scored a team-high 18 against McNeese State on an 8-for-11 shooting night from the field.
This marks the third time in his six seasons as head coach that Stansbury's Bulldogs have opened the year with at least four straight wins.
His first squad in 1998-99 won eight straight to begin the year, while the 2001-02 team tipped things off with 11 consecutive victories.
McNeese State head coach Tic Price was impressed with what his Cowboys, who lost by 10 points to LSU earlier this season, saw from the Bulldogs.
