Men’s Hoops Drops Double Overtime Affair to Kentucky, 78-73

Saturday, January 2

Starkville

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

6-4,1-1SEC

Kentucky

2-6,1-0SEC

OT 1

OT 2

Kentucky

Mississippi St.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

Men’s Hoops Drops Double Overtime Affair to Kentucky, 78-73

January 02, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Quotes (PDF)Video: Molinar and Stewart Jr. Presser Photo Gallery Video: Coach Howland Presser Photo Gallery

by Mikaela Elizondo, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Iverson Molinar, D.J. Stewart Jr. and Jalen Johnson tallied a combined 50 points to nearly carry the Mississippi State men's basketball team to a 2-0 conference start, but the Bulldogs were unable to close out defending SEC champion Kentucky who turned the tables to snatch a 78-73 double overtime decision during Saturday's SEC home opener at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (6-4, 1-1 SEC) had their SEC-leading active home game winning streak and one of the nation's best streaks among Power 5 schools come to a close at 13 consecutive games.

Kentucky (2-6, 1-0 SEC) erased a nine-point MSU advantage midway through the second half to force overtime and eventually would snap its six-game losing streak.

Stewart Jr. delivered a team-leading 19 points, coupled with five rebounds and three assists. He registered 13 of his 19 points in regulation and sank 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Stewart Jr. has amassed double figures in 10 consecutive games to start the season.

Molinar tacked on another solid all-around effort with 17 points, five assists and five rebounds. Like Stewart Jr., he has provided 10-plus points in all seven games this season.

Johnson fired in 14 points courtesy of an efficient 4-of-6 shooting clip. He drained a trio of three-pointers and has pieced together double figures in all four of his outings as a member of MSU's starting five.

Tolu Smith chipped in seven points, tied his career-best 12 rebounds, dished out three assists and swatted three blocks followed by Abdul Ado and Javian Davis with five points each. Ado collected five rebounds, four blocks and a season's best three steals whereas Davis hauled down seven boards of his own.

The four rejections for Ado enabled him to surpass Tyrone Washington (1996-97-98-99) and become the third player in MSU history to eclipse the 200 career blocks joining legendary shot blockers Jarvis Varnado (2007-08-09-10) and Erick Dampier (1994-95-96).

Cameron Matthews, Deivon Smith and Quinten Post added two points apiece. Matthews grabbed four rebounds and two steals, while Post tucked away two rebounds.

For the contest, MSU managed a 26-of-69 shooting performance from the field (37.7 percent), a 5-of-15 effort from three-point range (33.3 percent) and made 16-of-23 at the foul line (69.6 percent).

Kentucky marked the first opponent to outrebound the Bulldogs in 2020-21 and crept away with a 48-46 edge on the glass.

The Bulldogs compiled 16 assists and 16 turnovers, while the Wildcats countered with 17 assists and 18 turnovers.

Kentucky hit on 32-of-77 from the floor (41.6 percent), canned 11-of-21 on three-pointers (52.4 percent) and were 3-of-8 at the charity stripe (37.5 percent). The Wildcats had four players in double figures headed by Dontaie Allen's career-high 23 points aided by seven treys. Olivier Sarr worked his way to a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND
"Our guys really competed. They played their hearts out. There's a lot of hurt right now after losing that one today with so many opportunities to win it. Give Kentucky credit, they battled. I thought their defense, especially their ball screen defense, really bothered us. We did not slip or attack with our bigs, rolling and getting anything to them. I thought they played really tough and hard."

"Obviously [Dontaie] Allen, coming into the game was 2-for-6 on the year [from the field]. All three's. Then, he goes 7-for-11 tonight against us [from three-point territory]. He was the difference maker for them offensively with seven three's."

"They forced three turnovers after we were up nine and after the three free throws [by Jalen Johnson]. We got up nine. Then, we had three turnovers in a row that led to layups at the other end. Our 16 turnovers tonight were too many. I'll bet that six or seven of them were for layups or dunks. They weren't just turnovers, they were turnovers leading to easy baskets at the other end for them."

"It's going to hurt, and it should hurt. It's going to hurt all of us very much, but that motivates you and pushes you to do better. If it doesn't hurt, then, it's a problem. Tomorrow is a new day. We'll bounce back tomorrow. I don't know how much we'll be able to do because we've been going a lot of days in a row now without a break. We're going to do some walkthrough stuff tomorrow and start to prepare for Missouri. We'll watch some film. Then, we'll come back and have a good practice on Monday before we play a very good Missouri team on Tuesday. They're one of the best teams in the country. They just had a great win today at Arkansas, which is a fantastic win because Arkansas has been playing so well.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – IVERSON MOLINAR
"It is going to make us grow as a team. It is going to unite us a little bit more than we are right now. Kentucky is a really tough team, so I feel like we will be fine in the SEC. I feel like we are coming together more. Having that advantage to play through tough times and knowing what it takes to win, will only help us in the long run."

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – D.J. STEWART JR.
"This one was one of the toughest with going two overtimes and not being able to come out with the win. We played hard, and a lot of things didn't go our way. The end result was just not what we wanted. SEC play, games are back-to-back, so we can't hang our heads on a Kentucky loss. We got to get back to the drawing board and get ready for Missouri on Tuesday."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Mississippi State started on a strong note as an Abdul Ado jump hook, a pair of Tolu Smith free throws, a Jalen Johnson right wing triple and an emphatic D.J. Stewart Jr. one-handed dunk in transition gave the Bulldogs a 9-6 advantage with 14:42 left.

Kentucky found its bearings and came away with 15 of the next 21 points over the next 5:21 off the clock to garner a 21-16 lead at 9:21 mark.

The Bulldogs answered with six unanswered points of their own. Iverson Molinar connected on a floater in the lane followed by a Stewart Jr. midrange jumper. Johnson turned defense into offense with a steal and layup to put the Maroon and White on-top 22-21 with 5:54 to go.

Mississippi State closed the stanza with a Stewart Jr. turnaround jumper off an inbounds play, and Molinar stepback jumper during the final seconds to take a 35-30 edge into the locker room.

The second 20 minutes saw the Bulldogs stretch the spread to nine points on two occasions, 50-41 on a Devion Smith fastbreak layup with 11:11 remaining. The second time made it 55-46 at the 9:04 mark as Johnson converted on three free throws following two technical fouls on UK coach John Calapari.

The Wildcats used an 11-point flurry following the ejection and took advantage of three MSU turnovers during that span. Dontaie Allen heated up for Kentucky with a pair of treys, and the Wildcats took a 56-55 advantage with 5:08 left.

Mississippi State regained the momentum off a Tolu Smith putback tipin, and a Molinar deep two-pointer from the left wing to go up 59-56 with 2:32 to go.

However, Kentucky made the most of two second-chance chances. Allen tacked on another three-ball, and Olivier Sarr provided the equalizer on a layup in the paint to even at the tally at 61-61 at the end of regulation.

After a Molinar late shot clock trifecta at the top of the key inside the final minute of the first overtime kept the score at 68-68, the Bulldogs got a defensive stop courtesy of a Tolu Smith blocked shot. MSU had a chance to the contest, but Molinar had another three-point attempt hit off the rim after the horn sounded.

The Wildcats rode Sarr and Allen to the finish line as UK scored 10 of the contest's 15 points in the second overtime. The duo pumped home 29 of 37 points after halftime.

Stewart Jr. knocked down a NBA range three-ball from the right wing for the final margin of 78-73.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State continues a stretch of five of six games inside the friendly confines of Humphrey Coliseum when the Bulldogs welcome No. 12 Missouri on Tuesday. Tip time is slated for 8 p.m. CT from Humphrey Coliseum televised by the SEC Network and available online courtesy of the Watch ESPN app.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.