Mississippi State freshman Ervin shines in 13-point effort at LSU

By By Richard Dark / EMG staff writer
Jan. 19, 2004
BATON ROUGE No one was surprised that freshman guard Gary Ervin stepped up in the second half and scored 13 points to help lead Mississippi State to a 64-54 road victory over LSU on Saturday afternoon.
Least of all senior Timmy Bowers.
Stansbury agreed.
Brandon Vincent put it all into perspective. "He plays hard out there and with a lot of confidence, and it's hard to find a lot of freshmen in the SEC who do that," he said.
Good call
Stansbury's decision to change in and out of the zone defense seem to come at just the right times. "They were in a rhythm offensively and when a team is, its good to (squeeze them) in some," Stansbury said of the switch to man.
Bad jersey
The back of Bowers' jersey still reads "Bower." Timmy said that the team just has not had time to get the problem fixed. He said it will probably be rectified during an upcoming two-game homestand.
Good supporting cast
Forward Lawrence Roberts added nine points and four rebounds, while Shane Power, getting his first start of the season, chipped in with seven and seven. Stansbury said he opted to go with a quicker lineup early on, so he brought center Marcus Campbell in off the bench.
Neck and neck
With the win, Rick Stansbury tied John Brady in wins (114), but Stansbury did so in one season's less time. Brady has 114 wins in seven seasons at LSU.
Do you remember?
Brady, a McComb native, went to Belhaven and MSU before becoming an assistant under Bob Boyd and Richard Williams. His associate head coach Butch Pierre left Starkville in 1984.
Worth repeating