Career night for D.J. Stewart lifts Mississippi State over Texas State in Bulldogs' home opener

MSU improves to 1-2 this season

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Three games into this basketball season, there is question as to whether or not Mississippi State can muster enough offense to find great success in the 2020-21 campaign. There is no question though that D.J. Stewart is a big piece of the Bulldogs' puzzle and on Monday night in MSU's home opener, the sophomore guard showed why. 

Stewart set a new career high as he scored 23 points to lead MSU to a 68-51 win over Texas State.

"D.J. Stewart was fantastic all night," Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland said.

Outside of Stewart, only forward Tolu Smith reached double figures in scoring for the Bulldogs. Smith tallied 12. 

No matter though for MSU. Stewart was more than up for the challenge of putting the Bulldogs on his back. He shot 9-of-14 from the field overall, including a red-hot 5-of-6 showing from 3-point range.

Coming into the season – given the loss of State's four leading scorers from a year ago (Reggie Perry, Robert Woodard II, Tyson Carter and Nick Weatherspoon) – it was apparent Stewart would be counted on to take a big step. After scoring 12 points against Clemson and 20 against Liberty in State's first two games, Stewart continued his upward trend on Monday.

"I feel like I waited my turn to get to the point I am now," Stewart said. "I put in a lot of hard work, and I feel like it's just God blessing me and the hard work is paying off."

Stewart scored 13 of his points in the second half as Mississippi State pulled away. Early on, the Bulldogs were in a tight fight with the Bobcats, despite Stewart's production.

MSU led just 26-24 at the half. State shot just 37 percent in the period and was hampered by 10 turnovers. After the intermission though, the tide turned quickly. Less than five minutes into the second half, the Bulldogs had built a double-digit lead, thanks in large part to eight quick points from Stewart including a couple of treys. Like that, State was on the way to the win – the 500th of Howland's head coaching career.

"I thought (Texas State's) pressure bothered us early and we did a much better job taking care of the basketball in the second half," Howland said. "D.J. got it going and we got good production from our bench."

Indeed, the Bulldogs did get a bench boost. Center Abdul Ado was in foul trouble for much of the night. It provided a great opportunity for backup big men Javian Davis and Quinten Post to shine. The two didn't disappoint. Post scored nine points and brought down five rebounds in the most significant appearance of his MSU career. Davis wasn't far from a double-double with seven points and eight boards. 

However the star of this night was undoubtedly Stewart. And the exciting thing for the Bulldogs is that it looks like Stewart is soon to receive a boost.

Point guard Iverson Molinar has missed each of MSU's three games this season due to testing positive for COVID-19, Howland confirmed postgame. However Molinar – who hasn't experienced coronavirus symptoms – is expected to be available for the Bulldogs on Friday when MSU hosts North Texas at 7 p.m. Howland thinks Molinar's return will be huge for Stewart.

"It'll alleviate some of the pressure on (Stewart) and he won't have to do so much," Howland said. "Now he won't have to play many minutes at the point."

An even better Stewart would be bad news for the opponents that remain on MSU's schedule. As the Bulldogs try to iron out their offensive woes, Stewart appears to be primed and ready to be the centerpiece of the State attack. In addition to pushing the Bulldogs forward, Howland believes his budding star is also on the cusp of playing his way into big-time future opportunities.

"His ceiling is, I think, like Robert Woodard and Reggie Perry and Quinndary Weatherspoon," Howland said of Stewart. "I think he'll be a player that'll eventually have a chance to be drafted (to the NBA)."

To follow along on Cowbell Corner and comment on articles and participate in the community, simply sign up, get a username and chime in with your thoughts and questions. Also, be sure to follow Cowbell Corner on Twitter (@SIBulldogs) by clicking here, and like it on Facebook by clicking here. Thank you for coming to Cowbell Corner for coverage of Mississippi State sports.