From Special Reports
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A dominating first-half performance by Central Florida did in Mississippi State Thursday night in the opening round of the Gildan Charleston Classic.
The Knights shot 63 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, built a 20-point halftime lead and turned back the Bulldogs 86-61 at TD Arena.
“Our defense was suspect to start the game,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “Central Florida has a really good team and they beat us inside. We should have doubled their big man (Tacko Fall) to start the game. That’s my fault. We just have a lack of size right now.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 19 points and I.J. Ready added 15 for the Bulldogs. Overall though, MSU (1-1) could not build consistent offensive momentum and had few answers underneath for Central Florida (2-0).
Fall, a 7-foot-6 sophomore center, thrived in the lane as the Golden Knights built an early 13-5 lead and later a 53-33 halftime advantage. Central Florida led by as many as 28 points in the first half. Bell had 14 first-half points and finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
“We allowed them to shoot 63 percent in the first half and you are not going to beat anybody doing that,” Howland said. “On our end, we shot 32 percent and you can’t do that to beat a good team that has the answers on the offensive end. We have a lot of freshmen and they are leaning things. Doubling the man in the post is something we haven’t worked a lot on.
“Central Florida has so much size, and then foul trouble really limited our depth. We have to be able to play man-to-man without fouling.”
For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 20-of-62 shots from the field (32.3 percent), 6-of-24 shots from 3-point range (25.0 percent) and 15-of-20 shots from the foul line (75.0 percent). The Golden Knights hit 32-of-64 shooting, 5-15 shots from 3-point range (33.3 percent) and 17-26 from the foul line (65.4 percent).
Central Florida held a 49-35 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had 10 assists and 10 turnovers, while the Golden Knights had 18 assists and 10 turnovers.
Weatherspoon and Aric Holman shared team-high honors with seven rebounds apiece for the Bulldogs.
Central Florida also received 19 points from Tank Efianayi, 17 points from B.J. Taylor and 10 points from Matt Williams. Nick Banyard had a game-high 13 rebounds.
MSU will face Boise State at 6 p.m. today.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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