Mississippi State Upends New Orleans

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State bested New Orleans, 82-59, Sunday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Leading for the way for MSU was sophomore guard Robert Woodard II who netted a game-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also finished with a game-high 16 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Reggie Perry made his presence felt with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Joining the double-digit scoring club where freshmen guards D.J. Stewart Jr., who finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Iverson Molinar. who finished with 10 points.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot 50.8% from the field. The Bulldogs also shot 5-of-20 (25%) from 3-point range and 15-of-24 (62.5%) from the charity stripe, The Privateers shot 22-of-58 (37.9%) from the field, including 2-of-11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc.

MSU held a 45-27 rebounding advantage, including a 18-9 offensive rebounds advantage. The Bulldogs were able to capitalize on 11 second chance points.

The game was tight early on with it being tied up at 15-15 with under 10 minutes left in the first half. New Orleans took a 17-15 lead with 9:44 left in the opening half. State managed to pull away late in the first half, leading by 11 points at 35-26 with 2:33 left in the half. The Bulldogs went into the halftime break leading 38-28.

The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 45-28 lead with 17:26 left in the game. State would extend its lead by as much as 30 points with the score being 70-40 with 7:01 left in the game.

MSU went on to win the contest 82-59.

Mississippi State will now travel to Conway, South Carolina, for the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Bulldogs will begin the tournament on Thursday against Tulane. Tip time is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at HTC Center. The game will be televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU.