STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Gavin Ware had 26 points and 13 rebounds, I.J. Ready added 25 points with six assists and Mississippi State beat Eastern Washington 106-88 on Friday night in Ben Howland's coaching debut with the Bulldogs.
Howland, the former UCLA coach, was coaching in his first game in two seasons.
Mississippi State used a 20-0 run in the second half to pull away in the season opener for both teams.
Travis Daniels and Quinndary Weatherspoon each had 12 points for Mississippi State, while Fred Thomas added 10.