Shoulder only slows Benock
STARKVILLE, Miss.
- Mississippi State senior guard Riley Benock wasn’t expected to play against Arkansas on Wednesday night after suffering a bruised right shoulder in Tuesday’ practice.
But Benock, who started the previous 22 games, played 22 minutes off the bench to help the Bulldogs beat the Razorbacks 67-56.
Benock didn’t have an official shot attempt - struggling with his sore shoulder - but had three steals and hit all four of his free throw attempts.
Perhaps most impressively, Benock hustled for a rebound off a missed free throw with 1:25 left after the Razorbacks had pulled within 61-55.
“He’s willing to sacrifice his body for the good of the team,” Mississippi Coach Rick Stansbury said. “He’s not the biggest guy [6-3], but somehow he got in there with one hand and got that rebound back.”
Stansbury said it wasn’t until the game started that he decided to play Benock, who received a medication before tip-off to numb the pain in his shoulder.
“For a guy we didn’t think could play, Riley gave us some great minutes,” Stansbury said. “He said he wanted to try and play. He’s a tough kid. ... He wants to do anything he can to help his team win.”Rebounding
Mississippi State’s plus-15 rebounding margin (41-28) was its highest of the season, but Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said he thought that stat was somewhat misleading.
Pelphrey noted the Razorbacks attempted 13 more shots than the Bulldogs (60-47) and had 40 misses.
On the offensive boards, the Razorbacks outrebounded the Bulldogs 9-7 and were outscored just 12-9 on second-chance points.
MSU’s Johnson out
Mississippi State played without senior guard RavernJohnson, who is averaging a team-high 17.7 points.
It was the second consecutive game Johnson has missed. He was suspended indefinitely for what Mississippi State called “inappropriate” comments on his Twitter account as well violating the school’s class attendance policy.
It’s the third game this season an Arkansas opponent’s leading scorer has missed a game, along with Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell (sprained ankle) and LSU’s Ralston Turner (foot injury).
Changing lineups
Senior forward Kodi Augustus is the only Mississippi State player to start all of its 23 games.
Arkansas has the Bulldogs beat when it comes to lineup changes, starting 11 different lineups this season.
Razorbacks sophomore Marshawn Powell was back in the starting lineup Wednesday night after scoring 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench against Ole Miss. Michael Sanchez made his first start this season in place of Powell, who sustained an ankle injury in the team’s shootaround, Coach John Pelphrey said.
The only Razorbacks to start all 23 games are senior center Delvon Johnson and junior guard Rotnei Clarke.
Come on in
After it began snowing in Starkville on Wednesday, Mississippi State announced anyone coming to the game would be admitted free.
The announced crowd was 3,121 with a paid attendance of 7,224.
Arkansas has admitted students for free at its past two home games against Auburn and Georgia after snowstorms.
Nice touch
Mississippi State hit 16 of 18 free throws for a seasonhigh 88.9 percent. Arkansas hit 9 of 14 free throws.
“When you hit more free throws than they attempt, that’s huge,” Bulldogs Coach Rick Stansbury said.
Big 5-0
Wednesday night’s game marked the 50th time Arkansas has played Mississippi State. The Razorbacks lead the series 27-23.
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/11/2011