MSU turns up heat in second half MSU turns up heat in second half
By Dave Morrison
Sports Editor
At halftime, the fate of the Chick-fil-A chicken looked sealed.
Mountain State muddled along to a rather drab, slow first half and led Bluefield State 41-31 at the break.
It certainly didn''t look like the Cougars would reach the 105 points required so those in attendance would get the free nuggets.
Looks can be deceiving.
An inspired Mountain State team, led by a rejuvenated Andrew Lee, scored a season-best 68 second-half points to trigger a 109-66 decision over coach Bob Bolen''s alma mater.
"I was thinking it wasn''t looking too good for the chicken at the half," said MSU''s Nick Aldridge, who had a team-high 26 points and eight rebounds along with six assists. "I really did. But in the second half we shared the ball, we played as a team."
And as a result, the fans shared in the wealth with the Chick-fil-A nuggets.
The game also marked the return of Lee, who had not played well of late.
And the team seemed to mirror his production.
In the first half, he had two points and one rebound in 11 minutes. And the Cougars led by 10.
In the second half, he had 13 points and five rebounds in 10 minutes. And the Cougars won by 43.
"I thought he looked like the old Andrew Lee (in the second half)," Bolen said. "He really hit the boards well, he got some easy baskets and he battled."
And he wasn''t alone.
Alvin Mitchell had 10 of his 16 points after the break, Winston Robinson had 10 of his 12 points and Brian Ormon had all 11 of his points in the second half.
"We moved the ball in the second half," Bolen said. "In the first half we were stationary or trying to dribble through defenders. In the first half we took poor shots. In the second half we took the correct shots."
Bluefield State coach Don Jones said he was worried about fatigue, and it showed in the second half.
"We knew if we could keep it close, that might give us some extra energy," Jones said. "But they got out in transition a lot in the second half and that was one thing I was worried about because we just didn''t have the numbers (he was without three potential starters inside)."
Still, Bluefield gave MSU all it could handle in the first half.
"And I thought we had a chance to be closer, maybe even have the lead, but we missed three free throws (following a technical foul on Mitchell following a foul call) and a couple of lay-ups," Jones said. "We really could have been closer."
But in the second half, a 13-0 run made a 12-point game 25 and an 11-0 run moments later gave the Cougars a comfortable 78-43 lead with over 10 minutes left.
A Marcus Hunter three put the Cougars over 100 and Mundrell Young''s stickback provided the points for the chicken.
All 15 of the Cougars who dressed played and 14 players scored.
Raylon Almon had 33 of the Big Blues 66 points.
The game also marked the return of Rico Thompson (12 points) and Justin Cook (3), former Woodrow Wilson players, each with a state title to his credit.
Thompson, who missed last year with an injury, scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
"I thought Rico was a little nervous in the first half," Jones said. "It was his first time back. And playing in front of family and friends for the first time, it''s tough. He missed a lot of open looks that he usually knocks down."
As for the Cougars, the second half provides a lift as the team goes to Portsmouth, Ohio, for the Shawnee State Classic this weekend. MSU (5-0) faces Penn State-Fayette at 6 p.m. Friday and Shawnee State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
It will be a homecoming for Aldridge.
"When we play as a team, all five of us together, I think it''s going to be hard for teams to match up with us," Aldridge said. "On the other hand, when we don''t, we can be beat. It''s up to us."
— E-mail: demorrison@
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