No. 24 Mississippi St. 76, UT-Martin 50

Wendell Lewis was grabbing rebounds and throwing down dunks.

DeVille Smith was dishing no-look passes and draining open

shots.

The two are usually role players for No. 24 Mississippi State,

but both made the most of extra opportunities as the Bulldogs

easily defeated Tennessee-Martin 76-50 on Friday night at Humphrey

Coliseum.

The Bulldogs never trailed, receiving contributions from all

over the roster. Dee Bost and Rodney Hood led the team with 17

points each, but Smith scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-10

shooting from the field, while Lewis had his first career

double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said both Lewis and Smith

would be important to any future success this season – singling out

Lewis’ play as particularly vital.

”It doesn’t matter if he starts or not, he’s going to play a

lot of minutes,” Stansbury said. ”And his productivity in those

minutes is going to be the difference in us winning or losing a lot

of basketball games.”

Mississippi State (6-1) played without starting forwards Renardo

Sidney and Arnett Moultrie for the second straight game. A team

spokesman says Sidney has a sprained left hand, while Moultrie is

battling tendinitis in both knees.

The Bulldogs shot 59.3 percent (32 of 54) from the field –

including 68 percent in the second half – and outrebounded

Tennessee-Martin 37-31.

”We’ve had to play a lot of different lineups the past few

games and I think that’s really going to help us down the line,”

Stansbury said. ”We were really efficient offensively in the

second half, shooting 68, 69 percent, and we didn’t turn it over.

For the most part, we played hard.”

Dane Smith scored 17 points for Tennessee-Martin (1-5) and Myles

Taylor added 12. The Skyhawks had 16 turnovers.

Mississippi State led 35-24 at halftime and used an 18-9 run to

start the second half to put the game away.

”It wasn’t anything they did – it was us,” Smith said. ”We

didn’t contain the ball and guys were able to get in the lane. They

were kicking out to open shooters and that was the ballgame.”

Bost and Hood have been productive all season, but the

contribution from Smith and Lewis bodes well as conference play

gets closer.

Sidney and Moultrie combine to average about 23 points and 15

rebounds, and Lewis helped make up for their absence. The 6-foot-9

junior from Selma, Ala., came into the game averaging 4.5 points

and 5 rebounds per game.

Stansbury has been impressed with Lewis’ ability since he

arrived on campus over two years ago, but occasionally exasperated

by his laid-back demeanor. Though he’s still not exactly an

enforcer, Lewis has grown more assertive in the paint, and is one

of the team’s most important backups when the roster is at full

strength.

”I try not to put too much pressure on myself,” Lewis said.

”I try to have fun and do whatever the team needs for us to win.

… I’ve had a mindset when I get into games that I’m trying to

score. Going hard.”

Smith missed the first game of the season because of unexplained

headaches and dizziness, but after his health was cleared, he’s

slowly become a more important part of the Bulldogs’ roster. The

5-foot-11 point guard also added three assists and two steals in 26

minutes.

Smith’s best quality is a devastating first step off the

dribble, but Stansbury said it can get him in trouble.

”He’s pretty hard to guard on that first ball screen

sometimes,” Stansbury said. ”That’s good and bad because he

thinks he can do it every time. But he’s getting better. He’s not

forcing things as much.”

Mississippi State has been rolling since a surprising 68-58 home

loss to Akron in the second game of the season. Wins over Arizona

and Texas A&M in the 2K Classic last week propelled the

Bulldogs into the national rankings, and the team still has four

games remaining in a six-game homestand that continues Sunday

against North Texas.

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