The Sports Xchange
Nov 20, 2017
Mississippi State threw down seven dunks and added 10 layups to wear down Green Bay for a 77-68 victory Monday night in Starkville, Miss., as part of Hoops in the Heartland benefiting Men Against Breast Cancer.
Sophomore guard Lamar Peters paced a balanced attack for Mississippi State (3-0) with 18 points. The Bulldogs' set of 6-foot-10 big men took their toll on the Phoenix as junior forward Aric Holman added 13 points and redshirt freshman Abdul Ado contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior guard Khalil Small and sophomore forward T.J. Parham posted 15 points apiece to lead Green Bay (1-2). The Phoenix never led, but they never let the Bulldogs' runs knock them out.
The Bulldogs needed less than seven minutes to race out to a 15-point lead. Holman delivered a dunk on the game's first possession, and Peters drained a 3-pointer at the 13:45 mark to cap Mississippi State's early 20-5 outburst.
The Bulldogs still led by 15 with five minutes left in the first half before Green Bay began to make headway. Freshman forward Manny Patterson hit a pair of free throws and a layup to start a run that sliced Mississippi State's lead to 40-32 by halftime.
Small's three-point play with 17:25 left pulled the Phoenix within 42-37, but the Bulldogs responded with back-to-back dunks by sophomore center E.J. Datcher and sophomore guard Tyson Carter to help rebuild a 14-point lead.
Once again, the Phoenix rose as Parham reeled off seven points in 94 seconds to get Green Bay within 55-51 with 10:48 to play. From there, the game turned into a free-throw and layup contest as Mississippi State hit 9 of 10 foul shots down the stretch to regain control.