STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi State's Craig Sword scored a game-high 16 points, including 15 in the first half, to lead the Bulldogs to a 78-65 victory over Florida A&M Tuesday night.
Sword paced four Bulldogs (7-2) in double figures and finished the night 10-of-12 at the free throw line.
Deandre Bullard had 14 points to lead the Rattlers (2-8) and was the lone FAMU player in double digits.
Mississippi State led 42-27 at halftime thanks to 52 percent shooting from the field. The Rattlers shot just 32 percent in the opening half and also had seven turnovers.
MSU finished the game 33-of-45 at the free-throw line and shot 39 percent for the game. The Rattlers shot just 34 percent for the game but did knock down 8-of-21 beyond the arc.
The game was the first-ever meeting between the two schools as MSU improved to 6-0 all-time versus teams from the MEAC.
