GAME NOTES: Mississippi State aims to remain unbeaten when the Bulldogs travel to American Bank Center in Texas to battle the Saint Louis Billikens in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.

The winner of this game will take on either TCU or Bradley on Saturday for the championship.

The Bulldogs beat Clayton State, 59-46, on Monday to wrap up a four-game homestand, while Saint Louis edged NC A&T, 57-54, on Tuesday.

This will be only the second meeting between the Bulldogs and Billikens, and latter earned a 63-46 home win back on Dec. 9, 1950.

Roquez Johnson tallied 15 points, Trivante Bloodman 12 and Gavin Ware 11 for Mississippi State in its latest victory. The Bulldogs shot just 38 percent from the field and missed all seven of their 3-point attempts, something that cannot happen Friday if they are to advance to the final of this event. The Bulldogs totaled only five assists in Monday's game.

Dating back to last year, MSU has out-rebounded its opponents six consecutive times. Ware (8.3 rpg) paces the team on the glass to go with his 14.0 points. Johnson (16.5 ppg) leads the squad in scoring, while Fred Thomas (13.0 ppg) is the other player averaging double digits in points. Bloodman (9.5 ppg) has missed just two of his 24 free-throw attempts. Thomas, a 6-foot-5 junior forward is considered MSU's best defender. He had five steals against Clayton State.

The Billikens rebounded from their first loss of the season with their tight victory on Tuesday. Jim Crews' squad got 19 points from Miles Reynolds and 15 from Austin McBroom. Reynolds converted 14-of-18 free throws for Saint Louis, which shot 34.2 percent from the field. The Billikens rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit. Reynolds somehow finished the game after receiving five stitches above his right eyebrow. He was hurt colliding heads with an Aggies player. McBroom, a junior guard, paces the team in scoring with 13.0 ppg. Junior guard Ash Yacoubou, a transfer from Villanova, is tops among rebounders (6.0 rpg) and is second in scoring (11.5 ppg).

The Billikens are in a busy stretch of playing five games in 10 days. That should bode well for the Bulldogs, who have dominated the glass so far this season. All three of the victories for the Billikens this season have come while holding the opposition to less than 60 points. The Billikens are fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference in scoring defense, allowing 57.8 ppg. Mississippi State averages 71.2 points and is giving up barely above 58 per game. Expect a tight finish with plenty of good defense.