For the Bulldogs it was a 'Game of Change' day in more ways than one

Jan. 28—STARKVILLE — Mississippi State celebrated its "Game of Change" team Saturday afternoon.

Sixty years ago Babe McCarthy's all-white Bulldogs had to sneak out of Starkville to play a Loyola team with four black starters in the NCAA Tournament.

Loyola won the game, but the decision by Mississippi State president Dean Colvard, McCarthy and MSU players to compete during the height of racial strife and tension nation-wide has been hailed as a game-changer in efforts to propel equality forward.

Colvard faced enormous political backlash and calls for his job.

Prior to the halftime introduction of four of the 1963 team's players — Doug Hutton, Larry Lee, Aubrey Nichols and Jackie Wofford — State's new biracial athletics director Zac Selmon stepped to the floor and waved to the crowd during a timeout.

A year from now will mark 20 years since State hired a black football coach, Sylvester Croom.

Every SEC school has celebrated its black pioneers in various sports.

It's not likely we'll ever see hate fully eradicated, but we should strive for that goal anyway, and the 1963 Bulldogs are a proud dot on the timeline of Mississippi State history.

There was also some modern-day change for State Saturday.

The Bulldogs defeated No. 11 TCU 81-74 in overtime, the biggest win of the young Chris Jans Era.

Humphrey Coliseum, amid its renovations process, was rocking like it once did when Richard Williams and Rick Stansbury teams were knocking off SEC foes.

No doubt the old place, now known as McCarthy Gymnasium, rocked in similar fashion in 1963.

State had been building to this win, a handful of close finishes among its 1-7 SEC record. The most recent was a 66-63 heartbreaker at No. 2 Alabama Wednesday.

They beat a wounded team.

The Horned Frogs began the game without their leading rebounder, Eddie Lampkin. It was minutes old when 6-2 guard Mike Miles went to the locker room with a hyper-extended knee and took his 19.1 points a game with him.

In Fort Worth that would be the equivalent of taking quarterback Max Duggan off the football team.

So yes, 11th-ranked TCU was not at full strength. The Frogs were not able to "next man up" their way through it, but to paraphrase MSU legend Ron Polk and many others, "That's basketball."

You can only play the other team on the floor, and that team, even with its losses, had players who drove hard to the basket and were a terror in the paint.

But the most frightening man on the floor was MSU center Tolu Smith, whose smooth and artful movements down low led to 27 points and 13 rebounds.

In close losses, the Bulldogs couldn't make the big plays at the end.

This time they hit big shots, not only Smith but guards Shakeel Moore and Deshawn Davis, and they got big stops on the other end to pull away in overtime.

It's a quality win for an MSU team that desperately needed one.

If it creates confidence and a win streak the Bulldogs, maybe, could play some meaningful games in March.

From a 1-7 SEC start, that would be impressive change.

PARRISH ALFORD is the college sports editor and columnist for the Daily Journal. Contact him at parrish.alford@journalinc.com.