Trey Fort scored 21 points as Mississippi State coasted to a 71-56 victory against Arizona State in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday night in Chicago.
Jimmy Bell Jr. added 13 points and Dashawn Davis scored 10 points for the Bulldogs, who rolled to a 21-point halftime lead.
Kamari Lands scored 13 points and Frankie Collins added 10 to lead the Sun Devils, who shot 32.1 percent from the field, including 23.8 percent (5 of 21) on 3-point attempts.
Early in the second half, Davis, Fort, Josh Hubbard and Shawn Jones Jr. each made a 3-pointer to increase Mississippi State’s lead to 53-28.
The Sun Devils scored the next six points, but Bell’s basket and Cameron Matthews’ two free throws pushed the lead to 23 points. The closest Arizona State could get the rest of the way the final margin despite outscoring the Bulldogs 38-32 in the second half.
The Sun Devils got off to a difficult start after returning just three players from a 23-13 team that won a play-in game against Nevada in the NCAA Tournament last season and then lost to TCU.
The Bulldogs, who were 21-13 and went to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, overcame the absence of All-Southeastern Conference first-team forward Tolu Smith, who averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds last season. Smith is sidelined until the league season because of a foot injury.
The Sun Devils held a 10-9 lead before the Bulldogs took control.
Bell scored eight points, Fort scored five and Matthews had four during a 17-4 run that gave Mississippi State a 26-14 lead.
The Bulldogs increased the lead to 16 points on two occasions before Davis made three free throws and then a jump shot to help the Bulldogs take a 39-18 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media