Video: 1996 Team Watches MSU Men’s Basketball Push Past South Carolina

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (MSU Athletics) – Mississippi State honored the 1996 Final Four team Saturday afternoon and also sent a signal the future is bright as well.

With four players placed in double figures, MSU led from to start to finish in an impressive 68-58 win over South Carolina in the Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU scored the game’s first five points, led by as many as 17 and turned in one of its best defensive efforts of the season.

“That was a great effort us,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “It was our best effort of the season on both ends of the floor. It was our best sustained effort for 40 minutes. We forced 21 turnovers. We had 13 steals (including five by I.J. Ready and four by Craig Sword).

“Our bench was terrific. Our team defense was really incredible. We beat a really good team.”

With the win, MSU improved to 13-15 overall and 6-10 in league play, while South Carolina fell to 23-6 and 10-6. The Gamecocks entered the day second in the conference standings after spending most of the season among the national rankings.

“They pressured us and got us out of rhythm at South Carolina,” Ready said. “Our focus all week in practice was on defense. We wanted to make sure we had some good defensive intensity. We were able to convert some layups and dunks out of transition.”

Gavin Ware dominated inside with his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Quinndary Weatherspoon and Sword each added 14 points, while Fred Thomas added 12 in his best SEC outing of the season.

The Bulldogs scored eight straight points to build an early 13-4 lead. A coliseum crowd of 7,488 was energized early with the team playing hard on both ends of the floor.

A 3-pointer by Johnny Zuppardo and follow-up layup by Weatherspoon capped a 10-0 run as the Bulldogs built a 25-9 lead with 8:43 left in the half.

A layup by Aric Holman helped the Bulldogs build another 16-point lead.

Overall, MSU shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half and led 37-26 at the intermission.

“It was a fun day,” MSU senior Craig Sword said. “We are having a lot of fun right now. The chemistry on this team is really good. We are looking forward to playing Ole Miss.”

In the second half, the Bulldogs kept up the defensive intensity.

After the Gamecocks closed within 10, the Bulldogs followed with a 9-2 run for a game-best 50-33 lead with 12:32 left in the contest.

Despite some struggles at the free throw line (10 of 19 overall), the Bulldogs made enough plays to hold the Gamecocks at bay.

For the contest, MSU hit 25 of 55 shots from the field (45.5 percent), 8 of 22 shots from 3-point range (36.4 percent) and 10 of 19 shots from the foul line (52.6 percent). South Carolina hit 22 of 60 shots from the field (36.7 percent), 6 of 19 shots from 3-point range (31.6 percent) and 8 of 12 shots from the foul line (66.7 percent).

South Carolina held a 39-34 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 20 assists and 15 turnovers, while the Gamecocks had seven assists and 21 turnovers.

South Carolina received 12 points from Sindarius Thornwell and 10 points from Duane Notice. Michael Carrera was held to six points but managed a team-high eight rebounds.

MSU returns to the road for a Wednesday night matchup at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs and Rebels meet for the first time at the Pavilion in a 6 p.m. tip on the SEC Network.