Quick Reaction: Men’s Hoops

The Mississippi State Bulldogs took on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday night in a showdown. The Bulldogs led for most of the first half, but the Golden Eagles came out hot in the second half. The Bulldogs persevered and came out on top, 70-64.

This was not a walk-through game for the Bulldogs, but no one really expected it to be. Even though Mississippi State’s record was 10-1 and Southern Miss’s record was 7-5, most people knew the Golden Eagles would give the Bulldogs everything they wanted.

Luckily, Mississippi State’s bench came through. Xavian Stapleton led the team with 12 points and Lamar Peters had 10 points; both players came off the bench. Neither Quinndary Weatherspoon nor Tyson Carter could find much of a rhythm on offense. It was Mississippi State’s defense that showed up (especially in the first half) on Saturday night. Holding the Golden Eagles to only 27 points in the first half was what won the Bulldogs the game.

It seems as if this Mississippi State team was not very hyped up about this game anyways. The game was played in the Jackson Coliseum with not much of a big crowd. The Bulldogs have also had some home games with a low crowd. Scheduling did not help the Bulldogs any this season. All of the home games scheduled during the holidays weren’t very smart, but shockingly enough, they’ve won all of them.

The Bulldogs will have a break until they play North Florida at the Humphrey Coliseum on December 30th. They open up SEC play on January 2nd against the Arkansas Razorbacks, also at the Hump. It will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs hold up against SEC opponents.