Mississippi State, catalyzed by a quick start on the scoreboard, snapped a five-game losing streak after staving off a late comeback attempt by LSU in Wednesday night’s 80-66 win in Baton Rouge.
The Bulldogs (11-10, 3-5 SEC) did not score during the last two minutes of the matchup and allowed nine steals in the final half, but managed to hold on to a large lead built in the opening frame, surviving a road test against the Tigers (13-8, 1-7 SEC) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Scoring summary
Behind hot-shooting Quincy Ballard, Mississippi State opened the game on a 24-9 run. A pair of 3-point baskets from King Grace aided in the scoring surge. Later in the half, junior standout Josh Hubbard came to life offensively for the Bulldogs, connecting on two layups after a Ballard dunk. LSU, on the other hand, was anemic offensively, going to the midway break with a 32.1% field goal percentage. The halftime lead favored Mississippi State 44-21.
Coming out of the gate in the second half, both teams were aggressive offensively, with the Bulldogs outscoring LSU 28-25 when a media timeout was called at 10:23 left in the game. The score at that point was 72-46, with the visitors adding to their buffer. To stop the bleeding, the Tigers went to a full-court press defensively and effectively slowed Mississippi State. The Tigers outscored the Bulldogs 20-8 down the stretch, but it was not enough to undo the damage that had already been done.
Coach’s comments
Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans expressed gratitude that his team was able to get on the right side of the win-loss column for the first time in three weeks.
“I’m thankful that the guys handled the other team’s run and they stood their ground,” Jans said. “From where I sat, it was a completely different feeling in our huddles in the previous games.”
Numbers never lie
The Bulldogs were led by Hubbard, who finished with 15 points. Ballard had a near double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Sergej Macura amassed 10 points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, Mississippi State connected on 51% of its field goals and was 48% from behind the 3-point arc, while nearly doubling the Tigers in both rebounds and assists. Max McKinnon led LSU offensively with 15 points.
Next up
The Bulldogs will remain on the road, with a Saturday matchup at Missouri on the horizon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, and the game will air on the SEC Network, along with participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.