Mississippi State began the Chris Jans era on a high note with a 63-44 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Jans stressed in the offseason that it probably wasn't smart to begin the season with the Islanders, a team that returns four starters from an NCAA Tournament team, and in the first half, it was looking like he was right.

The Bulldogs didn't have the first half they were looking for. They turned it over ten times and shot only 10-28 from the field, and they struggled to get any offense outside of Tolu Smith's eight points as they went down 30-25.

"I'd say it was just first-game jitters," Smith said. "Just a little nervous. Gotta get all that stuff out. We brought it in the second half so I was happy we did that."

Mississippi State did indeed bring it in the second half as senior forward D.J. Jeffries came out hot, scoring seven quick points, including a three-pointer on the first possession.

"I took a sigh of relief," Jans said. "I felt like the whole arena did. We were down five, but it actually felt bigger than that to me because I didn't feel like we played very well, especially on the offensive end"

The defense was the star of the show of the second half, as they held Corpus Christi to just 14 points. Senior guard Terrion Murdox killed them in the first half scoring ten points and making two three-pointers, and they were able to hold him scoreless on 0-4 shooting in the second half.

Junior forward Cameron Matthews was the biggest reason, as he proved to be the ultimate glue guy. The Olive Branch (Miss.) native blocked three shots and swiped two steals in the second half and finished the game with five steals and three blocks. Matthews' defense rubbed off on his teammates as Shakeel Moore also grabbed three steals.

"It's contagious. He makes us want to rev it up," Moore said. "He's very contagious. He's just a defensive anchor. Just a monster on the defensive end," Tolu Smith added. "Five blocks is crazy, I ain't gonna lie."

Tolu Smith was the focal point of the Mississippi State offense as the 6'11" senior picked up where he left off at the end of last season, scoring 19 points. It was evident that Smith was the most dominant player on the court as he muscled his way to 8-10 from the field and 11 rebounds to make it a double-double.

"I'm just glad to be back," Smith said. "I'm just really happy. Not because I had a good game but just because I'm starting the season again. You know, just playing a full season and trying to play a full season is just a blessing, so I'm thankful."

Shakeel Moore was the only other Bulldog in double figures tonight as he scored 11, but the former NC State transfer didn't have his best day from deep as he shot 0-6 from three, so he had to find other ways to put the ball in the cup. The 6'1" junior had some nifty moves to get into the lane to get five lay-ins.

Mississippi State gets back in action on Friday as they'll travel up to Philadelphia to take on Akron in the Barstool Sports Invitational.