Mississippi State Basketball Handles Arizona State 71-56 in Season Opener

Mississippi State guard Trey Fort scores 21 points in his Bulldogs debut.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs took down the Arizona State Sun Devils 71-56 in their season opener on Wednesday night. This game took place in the neutral site of Wintrust Arena in Chicago for the second annual Barstool Sports Invitational.

Mississippi State transfer guard Trey Fort led both teams in scoring with 21 points, but he, nor the rest of the Bulldogs, could get going to begin the game.

It's perfectly normal for teams to start the season rusty, and Wednesday night was no different, as it took nearly nine minutes for either team to score 10 points. It was back-and-forth, you-miss-I-miss beginning, but Mississippi turned it on after that...and didn't turn it off the rest of the first half.

Arizona State failed to make a field goal from the 10-minute to the 2-minute mark in the first half due to the Bulldogs' relentless defense. They also forced five turnovers and allowed just six field goals on 23 attempts (0-9 from behind the arc) in the first 20 minutes.

Mississippi State took advantage on the offensive end by ending the half on a 30-8 run (47 percent shooting), including a buzzer-beating jumper by guard Dashawn Davis. Fort led the way in the first 20 minutes behind 14 points on a very efficient 4-of-8 made shots from downtown. The Howard College transfer was one of four players to make their Mississippi State debut on Wednesday night.

This game's main entertainment came in the first half, as the Bulldogs were on a much looser leash with their bench playing a lot of minutes in the second. The final 20 minutes were a lot closer than the first because of this, but even when Mississippi State's starters were on the floor they often chewed the clock down when they had possession.

Stat Leaders:

• Points: MSU guard Trey Fort (21)
• Rebounds: MSU forwards Jimmy Bell Jr., Cameron Matthews and D.J. Jeffries (9)
• Assists: ASU guard Jamiya Neal (4)
• Steals: ASU guard Frankie Collins (5)
• Blocks: MSU's Cameron Matthews, Shawn Jones Jr. and Trey Fort and ASU center Shawn Phillips Jr. (1)