Starkville Daily News

State's Carter claims honor

- By JOEL COLEMAN sports@starkville­dailynews.com

Mississipp­i State's Tyson Carter has been making big splashes inside the city of Starkville for years now dating back to his prep days with Starkville High School.

His recent performanc­es for MSU now have Carter making waves on an even bigger scale.

Carter was selected as the Southeaste­rn Conference's Player of the Week on Monday by the league office and College Sports Madness. The sharp-shooting guard earned the honor after scoring a total of 55 points in MSU's last two games.

“He has put in the time in the offseason,” Mississipp­i State head coach Ben Howland said recently of what Carter has done to fuel his big performanc­es. “He is playing a great overall game.”

Carter has blossomed into one of MSU's go-to guys. He is Mississipp­i State's leading scorer with 15.7 points per game.

Carter's scoring average has ballooned over the last two weeks as Carter has scored 20 or more points in three of his last four contests.

Carter's biggest performanc­e in that stretch came last Thursday. In an 83-59 win against North Dakota State, Carter scored 35 points. Carter's showing against NDSU was historic in that only 18 times in MSU history has a player scored more than 35 points. It marked the first time a Bulldog had tallied 35 since Bulldog great Darryl Wilson accomplish­ed the feat in 1995.

After the NDSU game, Carter kept his hot streak going right into Sunday's affair versus Dayton. Against the Flyers, Carter scored 20 points to help the Bulldogs improve to 7-0 for the season with a 61-59 victory.

It seems the points are coming in bunches these days for Carter. MSU is hopeful it continues when the Bulldogs return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against North Georgia.

Carter insists the reason he's playing so well is just a credit to the work he has been putting in.

“I've just been in the gym and working on my shot to make it consistent,” Carter said of what has led to his recent string of big nights.

 ?? (Photo by Jason Cleveland, SDN) ?? Former Starkville High School player and Mississipp­i State guard Tyson Carter was selected Southeaste­rn Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
(Photo by Jason Cleveland, SDN) Former Starkville High School player and Mississipp­i State guard Tyson Carter was selected Southeaste­rn Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

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