STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Sluggish offensive starts to each half forced the Northwestern State men’s basketball team into an uncomfortable position Thursday night.
Coupled with a Mississippi State front line that controlled the offensive glass, the Demons were unable to overcome the tough stretches, falling to the Bulldogs, 82-44, inside Humphrey Coliseum.
“If I would have told you that we would have held them to 40 percent (shooting) from the field and 28 (percent) from 3, and we lost by 38, you wouldn’t have believed it,” fourth-year head coach Rick Cabrera said. “But they had 20 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points.”
The Demons (0-2) did not score in the first five minutes of the game. Despite the slow start in which Northwestern missed its first six shots and committed a turnover, NSU trailed by only six after Arne Osojnik and Doyle Brown sank consecutive 3-pointers a little more than seven minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs (2-0) swung momentum in their favor with a 13-3 run across the next 5:45 seconds, building a double-figure lead they would not relinquish.
Mississippi State stifled the Demons defensively as Osojnik’s and Brown’s 3s on consecutive possessions marked the only time Northwestern hit field goals on back-to-back possessions in the half.
“I give credit to their defense, but we have to do a better job of making it easier,” Cabrera said. “We have a team of 14, but when two of your best drivers are sitting in dress clothes, that matters. Hopefully. we’ll get them back soon. We needed them against a team that pressures and has length and size on the perimeter. Our guys fought and competed. It just wasn’t good enough.”
Mississippi State outrebounded Northwestern, 50-34, and owned a 25-9 advantage in second-chance points and a 30-18 edge in points in the paint.
The offensive rebounding skewed the Demons’ defensive numbers as Northwestern limited a Bulldog team that scored 106 points on 58.3-percent shooting Monday against Tennessee Tech to 82 points on 40.6-percent shooting.
“Our initial defense was really good,” Cabrera said. “When it hit the rim, it’s not that our guys weren’t there fighting for it. They just do a great job of attacking the offensive glass.”
For the second straight game, Kai Simpson led the Demons in scoring with 13 points while Josh Hubbard paced a balanced Bulldog attack with 15 points as three Mississippi State players reached double figures.
The Demons cap their season-opening, three-game road trip Saturday night at Murray State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.