Senior forward Gavin Ware had a career-best 28 points and collected 13 rebounds and Mississippi State posted a 106-88 victory over Eastern Washington in coach Ben Howland's school debut at Starkville, Miss., on Friday.

Junior guard I.J. Ready scored a career-best 27 points and added six assists as the Bulldogs dominated the final 14 minutes under Howland, the former UCLA coach.

Mississippi State used a 20-0 burst to open up a 16-point lead and shot 65.7 percent from the field in the second half.

Sophomore forward Bogdan Bliznyuk and junior forward Felix Von Hope scored 21 points for the Eagles. Senior guard Austin McBroom added 15 points for Eastern Washington, which shot 58.8 percent in the first half before finishing at 50.8 percent.

Mississippi State overcame a double-digit deficit by shooting 62.1 percent from the field for the contest. Ware was 12-of-15 shooting while controlling the interior as the Bulldogs held a 38-25 rebounding edge.

The Eagles led 60-50 after a 3-pointer by Hope with 18:35 remaining before the Bulldogs took over and moved ahead 72-70 on a layup by senior guard Fred Thomas with 12:11 left.

Ready's two free throws capped the run of 20 straight points to give Mississippi State an 86-70 lead with 7:41 to play and the Bulldogs' lead topped out at 21.

Bliznyuk scored 15 first-half points and Von Hope added 13 as Eastern Washington led 51-48 at the break. Mississippi State, which trailed by 10 points with just over four minutes left in the half, received 14 points from Ware.