The stat sheet pretty much spelled out how lopsided Mountain State University’s 109-69 win over Cincinnati Christian College was Tuesday at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

The hard part was figuring out where to start.

The Cougars tallied 55 first-half points, five more than they had in the entire game their last time out against Tusculum. And MSU was 20-24 on two-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Mountain State played 11 players, all of whom logged double-figure minutes and the Cougars got 53 points off the bench, compared to five for the visitors.

Mark Williams had 13 assists, three more than Cincinnati Christian had as a team.

MSU’s leading scorer was Creshaun Holt, who had 20 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Teammate Bruce Komakech had a double-double with 10 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots off the bench.

Six players scored in double figures and seven had at least five rebounds as MSU outrebounded outmanned Cincinnati Christian 57-26.

“You have to give them credit,” Cincinnati Christian coach Don Nelson said. “They have an outstanding team. They just kept coming and coming. But we enjoy it. Coach (Bob Bolen) is one of my favorite coaches and he’s been a friend for a long time.”

As good as MSU was — and it was running on all cylinders Tuesday — Cincinnati Christian pretty much held serve as long as it could, given the fact it had a seven-man bench.

On the strength of six 3-pointers, CCC trailed by just six, 40-34, with 5:12 remaining in the half.

But a 15-6 stretch to end the half, led by five quick points by Holt, gave MSU a comfortable 55-40 lead at the break.

It only grew from there.

Isaiah Hill keyed an 19-8 run to start the second half and the smaller, bench-depleted visitors could never regain the shooting form of the first half.

“I thought we played with a lot more energy in the second half,” MSU coach Bob Bolen said. “I wish we would have started that way. But give them some credit too.”

For MSU, it’s all about coming together at the right time.

“We’re all starting to learn our roles now,” said Holt, who logged 18 minutes in the game and scored bunches in key stretches. “Before, we were learning the plays, learning to do what plays coach wanted. We know what we have to do now. My role is to just come in and give the team some energy off the bench.”

There was a lot of that Tuesday, as MSU begins preparing for the much-anticipated rematch with defending champion Pikeville next Tuesday at home.

“We got a lot of guys a lot of minutes and that is a key factor right now,” said point guard Mark Williams, who was two rebounds away from his second triple double of the season with 12 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. “We are starting to put it together right now. The next game is big. We’ve been waiting for it. We don’t want to lose to them. We don’t want to lose to anyone.”

Also in double figures for MSU were Hill with 18 and Cam Miller and Devon Peterson with 12 each.

For Cincinnati Christian, Greg Howard had 32 points, eight rebounds and three assists, all time highs. Antonio Fairbanks added 12 and Denzel Andrews 10.

MSU will tip-off with Pikeville Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.



MOUNTAIN STATE 109, CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN 69

CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN (0-6)

Greg Howard 11-22 506 32, Jaydell Herndon 2-3 0-0 5, Antonio Fairbanks 3-10 6-9 12, Denzel Andrews 4-7 0-0 10, Antonio Brown 2-10 0-0 5, Jerell Cohen 2-5 0-0 5, Courtney Edwards 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 11-16 69.

MOUNTAIN STATE (8-3)

Cam Miller 5-11 0-0 12, Mark Williams 5-10 0-0 12, Isaiah Hill 7-10 2-5 18, Mantas Drungys 2-5 2-2 6, David Nyarsuk 4-7 0-0 8, Chris Price 3-6 0-0 6, Devon Peterson 4-7 4-5 12, Creshaun Holt 9-13 0-0 20, Kevin Timmons 0-2 0-1 0, Bruce Komakech 5-10 0-0 10, Dino Muslc 2-2 1-2 5. Totals 46-83 9-15 109.

Halftime—MSU 55-40. 3-Point Goals—CCC 10-29 (Howard 5-12, Herndon 1-1, Fairbanks 0-5, Andrews 2-4, Brown 1-4, Cohen 1-3); MSU 8-29 (Miller 2-6, Williams 2-6, Hill 2-5, Drungys 0-2, Price 0-2, Peterson 0-2, Holt 2-5, Timmons 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—CCC 26 (Howard 8); MSU 57 (Komakech 10). Assists—CCC: 10 (Howard 3); MSU 32 (Williams 13). Total Fouls—CCC 14; MSU 18. A—873.