Bulldogs clash with Musketeers
By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Dec. 13, 2003
STARKVILLE Mississippi State University forward Lawrence Roberts will have the chance to achieve a personal milestone, as the Bulldogs (6-0) try to keep their record perfect to start the season against the Xavier Musketeers (4-2) tonight.
Roberts, who transferred from Baylor to MSU before the start of the season, needs 15 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
The Houston native has averaged 15.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs in the team's first six games of the season.
Roberts is ranked second in the Southeastern Conference in rebounding and 10th nationally, and he has notched a double-double in four of his first six games with MSU.
The Bulldogs contest against the Musketeers will be the team's first game since MSU defeated the University of Alabama at Birmingham 86-84 last Saturday.
MSU, which is off to a 6-0 start for the third time in head coach Rick Stansbury's tenure, overcame a 38-point performance by the Blazers' Mo Finley and a nine-point, second-half deficit to notch the win at home against UAB.
The Bulldogs will be closing a four-game homestand when they face the Musketeers. During the home stand MSU picked up wins over McNeese State, Louisiana-Monroe and UAB.
Xavier enter Humphrey Coliseum off a 55-36 win on the road against Miami (Ohio). The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Musketeers, who had lost Ball State and Indiana in The Wooden Tradition tournament.
The Musketeers' offense is led by All-American candidate Romain Sato, who averages 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Xavier guards Lionel Chalmers and Dedrick Finn are averaging 11.8 and 9.3 points per game, respectively.
Winsome Frazier has led the Bulldogs' scoring charge this season with 16.7 points per game, and Timmy Bowers, a preseason All-SEC selection, has averaged 16.2 points over the first six games.
MSU is scheduled to tip off against Xavier at 7 p.m., and high-school-age and under youths may purchase tickets for half price ($6) two hours prior to tip off at the Coliseum ticket office.
