The No. 2 MSU men’s basketball team came out of the gates pushing the tempo and shooting a plethora of threes, and lead McNeese State, 52-25, in the first half of the college basketball season.
Immediately after the tip, senior guard Keith Appling found sophomore guard Gary Harris for an open 3-pointer – his first of three in the half.
The Spartans kept shooting from downtown and finished 8-16 from beyond the 3-point line.
MSU also kept the pressure on the Cowboys offensively. The Spartans found themselves on fast break early and often, including junior guard Travis Trice’s drive down the baseline for a slam dunk. The next possession Harris found Trice again on the fast break for a three.
MSU didn’t play the cleanest half and it showed — they finished the half with seven turnovers.
With about five minutes left in the first half, MSU hit a rut with an airball by junior guard Russell Byrd, followed by a Byrd turnover and an overthrow by Trice on an alley-oop attempt to Costello.
However, the Spartans responded with back-to-back layups by Dawson and a no-look bounce pass from Dawson to Costello for a Costello dunk.
Harris leads the team with 15 points, followed by Trice’s 11.
Dawson who didn’t start because he missed a team meeting, had 8 points and five rebounds.
Costello picked up three blocks as well.
Check statenews.com for an update after the game.
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