Mississippi St. rebounds with win over McNeese St.

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - Mississippi State&#39;s second game without Mario Austin went much better than its first. <br> <br> Timmy Bowers scored 19 points and Winsome Frazier had 14 as the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs bounced back from a season-opening loss to beat McNeese State 81-65 on Monday night. <br> <br> Austin, the team&#39;s leading scorer and rebounder last season, is being held out pending an NCAA ruling on his eligibility. <br> <br> After a scoreless first half, Michael Ignerski had 12 in the second half for the Bulldogs (1-1). His putback with 3.5 minutes left stretched the lead to 72-52. <br> <br> Derrick Zimmerman scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting and handed out eight assists. <br> <br> Greg Tucker scored 17 points, shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to lead McNeese State (1-1). <br> <br> The Bulldogs, who were knocked off by Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, were flat at the start again. <br> <br> They fell behind 11-4 early and during a timeout Austin got in the face of Marcus Campbell, one of the players filling in for him. <br> <br> Campbell and fellow center Lincoln Smith were only slightly more effective than they were in the opener, when they combined for six points and two rebounds. The two totaled 10 points and eight rebounds Monday night. <br> <br> Slowly, the Bulldogs gained control using their defense to create some easy baskets and their athleticism to drive to the hoop. Mississippi State forced 25 turnovers. <br> <br> Zimmerman converted one Cowboys&#39; giveaway into a dunk that put Mississippi State up 50-40 with just under 15 minutes left. <br> <br> The Cowboys stayed close thanks to the long-range shooting of Tucker. He sank a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to answer Zimmerman&#39;s dunk and make it 50-43. <br> <br> Mississippi State finally shook the Cowboys with a 12-2 run, highlighted by Ignerski&#39;s one-handed follow slam, to go up 62-45 with 7:30 left. <br> <br> McNeese State coach Tic Price was ejected in the first half, getting two technicals within seconds for a loud and animated protest of a non-call under the basket. <br> <br> An attorney for Austin said he hopes the NCAA will make a decision by the weekend. Mississippi State plays Jacksonville on Saturday.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/11/187281