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CONWAY, S.C. — Senior guard Tyson Carter joined the 1,000-point club Thursday afternoon in Mississippi State’s 80-66 win over Tulane in a quarterfinal game in the Myrtle Beach Invitational inside HTC Center.
Carter finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Freshman guard Iverson Molinar led the team with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting, which included 4-of-6 from 3-point land. Sophomore forward Reggie Perry continues to make his presence felt, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and five rebounds. He scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half.
As a team, Mississippi State shot 26-of-43 (60.5%) from the field. The Bulldogs also shot 11-of-20 (55.0%) from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs held a 41-16 rebound advantage in the contest. The MSU defense held the Green Wave to 23-of-59 (39.0%) shooting. One area that the Bulldogs need to improve in is turnovers. State turned the ball over 25 times compared to 11 turnovers by Tulane.
MSU never trailed in the game and took an early 13-5 lead after Perry knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. The Bulldogs led by as much as 11 points in the first half when Molinar made a pair of free throws at with 11:23 left in the half to make it 22-11.
The Green Wave drew within four points when a Bulldog turnover led to a Tulane jumper to make it 31-27 with 3:29 left in the opening half. MSU would extend it’s lead to 36-27 as the Bulldogs headed to the locker rooms with a nine-point lead.
The second half began with sophomore guard Robert Woodard II knocking down his free throws to make it 38-27. The Green Wave then made a 3-pointer, stole the ball away and finished with a dunk to draw within six points at 38-32 with 18:26 left in the game.
State began to pull away with an 11-0 run to take a commanding 67-43 lead with 9:37 to go. The Bulldogs led by at least 20 points from 11:03 left in the game up until 4:29 left in the game when a Tulane 3-pointer made it a 19-point game at 73-54.
The Bulldogs went on to win 80-66.
Mississippi State will now advance to play No. 17 Villanova in the semifinals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational Friday afternoon. Tip time is set for approximately 1:30 p.m. CT and will be televised by ESPN2.