Saturday, November 27
Nassau, The Bahamas
11:30 AM
Mississippi State
5-1,0-0SEC
82
vs
71
Richmond
3-4,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
OT 1
F
Mississippi St.
36
30
16
82
Richmond
29
37
5
71
Men's Hoops Earns OT Win Over Richmond, 82-71
November 27, 2021 | Men's Basketball
by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Tolu Smith posted his third career 20-10 performance and pumped home 18 of his 22 points after halftime as Mississippi State's men's basketball team earned an 82-71 overtime victory over Richmond during Saturday's third place game at the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship.
Smith, an all-tournament team pick, was an efficient 10-of-11 shooting in his second game back from injury. He grabbed 11 rebounds, five on the offensive end, en route to his ninth career double-double.
Iverson Molinar piled up 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. It marked the fourth time in six games where the Panama native has amassed at least 15 points and five assists this season.
D.J. Jeffries turned in 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks. His teams have posted a 25-5 mark over his three seasons when Jeffries reaches double figures.
Garrison Brooks added 11 points and seven rebounds to give the Bulldogs (5-1) a quartet of players with 10-plus points.
Shakeel Moore came away with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, while Cameron Matthews and Andersson Garcia provided solid performances off the bench. Matthews notched seven points, five rebounds and three steals followed by Garcia's four points and five rebounds.
As a team, Mississippi State was 29-of-55 from the field (52.7 percent), 5-of-15 from three-point territory (33.3 percent) and an impressive 19-of-23 at the foul line (82.6 percent). The Bulldogs have connected for over a 50 percent shooting in three of six outings this season.
State controlled the interior with a 42-32 edge in paint points and dominated the glass with a 44-20 advantage headed by 13 offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs also scored 10 of the game's 12 points in transition and tallied 16 of the game's 22 points on second-chance opportunities.
Richmond (3-4) was led by Tyler Burton's game-leading 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. Jacob Gilyard tacked on 17 points, six assists and six steals for the Spiders.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH HOWLAND
"Obviously, that was a huge win for us. I have incredible respect for Richmond. They are such a well-coached and hard team to play against. They do a great job of running their offense, and I really commend our team on being able to play them on one day of preparation.
"I'm so happy for him [Tolu Smith]. He's an incredible young man and has wonderful people supporting him. He's a great team guy, and I'm so excited for him. I'm excited for the team to have him back. You can see how important of a role he plays on this team going forward."
"Our guys hung their heads for a moment, and I tried to do my best to lift them back up. I encouraged them and let them know that we had to keep fighting and deserved this game. Cam [Matthews] had a big basket to start that overtime. D.J. [Jefferies] and Cam particularly had a really good game defensively. Garrison [Brooks] had a good game but got in some foul trouble."
"Winning close games is always positive and helps create fortitude. Everyone was huge today defensively. They shot only 26 percent from three. That's excellent against a team like Richmond who shoots so well from the perimeter. All of their shots today were contested. We were playing better and gelling better in every aspect of the game today in comparison to Thursday's performance. I'm really happy for our team, and we want to build on this."
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – TOLU SMITH
"I feel like my teammates, especially my guards, did a great job of getting me the ball. I think we rebounded well as well. Winning the battle of rebounds allowed us to play well and get the win. People didn't see the countless hours in the gym when the doors were closed. I worked hard to be able to shine and show people what I can do. Having the ability to come back out here and compete is all His glory."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Both teams started strong offensively hitting five of its first seven shots. Brooks scored seven of State's opening 14 points. The two teams were all square at 14-14 with 13:02 remaining.
Trailing 25-20 at the 7:58 mark, the Bulldogs closed the opening half on a 16-4 spurt to take a 36-29 advantage into the locker room.
The Bulldogs started the run with 10 consecutive points highlighted by a Brooks transition dunk from Molinar coupled with a Jeffries three-pointer from the right wing.
Molinar capped the half with a driving floater in the lane which ended in a Richmond goal tending call. State's defense forced the Spiders to misfire on 11 of their last 13 shot attempts over the last eight minutes of the half to build the eight-point lead.
State kept the momentum on its side and captured its largest lead, 46-34 with 16:05 to go, after Brooks got a shooter's roll on a driving layup.
The Spiders crept back to within six at 58-52 with 9:19 left, but Smith fired back with a left-handed layup in traffic and a putback layup to put the Bulldogs back in-front 62-52 at the 6:46 mark.
Richmond registered the last eight points in regulation over the closing 2:46 to even the score at 66-66 and send the contest into overtime.
The extra session began with a bang for the Bulldogs as Matthews provided a contested bucket in the paint followed by a Molinar rise-and-fire triple on the right wing. Then, Molinar connected with Smith for a layup after breaking the Richmond press to make it 77-70 with 1:51 remaining.
On State's next possession, Molinar drove late shot clock and found Moore for a corner three-ball to extend the Maroon and White advantage to nine and salt the contest away.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs head into the December portion of their schedule with a pair of home matchups with Lamar (Dec. 2 – 7 p.m. CT) and Minnesota (Dec. 5 – 1 p.m. CT) at Humphrey Coliseum.
Thursday's game will be streamed online via SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app, while Sunday's contest will be nationally televised by the SEC Network.
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.
Baha Mar Bahamas Championship All-Tournament Team
Eric Ayala – Maryland
Tyler Burton – Richmond
Dre Davis – Louisville
Tolu Smith – Mississippi State
Malik Williams – Louisville (MVP)
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Tolu Smith posted his third career 20-10 performance and pumped home 18 of his 22 points after halftime as Mississippi State's men's basketball team earned an 82-71 overtime victory over Richmond during Saturday's third place game at the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship.
Smith, an all-tournament team pick, was an efficient 10-of-11 shooting in his second game back from injury. He grabbed 11 rebounds, five on the offensive end, en route to his ninth career double-double.
Iverson Molinar piled up 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. It marked the fourth time in six games where the Panama native has amassed at least 15 points and five assists this season.
D.J. Jeffries turned in 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks. His teams have posted a 25-5 mark over his three seasons when Jeffries reaches double figures.
Garrison Brooks added 11 points and seven rebounds to give the Bulldogs (5-1) a quartet of players with 10-plus points.
Shakeel Moore came away with eight points, five rebounds and four assists, while Cameron Matthews and Andersson Garcia provided solid performances off the bench. Matthews notched seven points, five rebounds and three steals followed by Garcia's four points and five rebounds.
As a team, Mississippi State was 29-of-55 from the field (52.7 percent), 5-of-15 from three-point territory (33.3 percent) and an impressive 19-of-23 at the foul line (82.6 percent). The Bulldogs have connected for over a 50 percent shooting in three of six outings this season.
State controlled the interior with a 42-32 edge in paint points and dominated the glass with a 44-20 advantage headed by 13 offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs also scored 10 of the game's 12 points in transition and tallied 16 of the game's 22 points on second-chance opportunities.
Richmond (3-4) was led by Tyler Burton's game-leading 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. Jacob Gilyard tacked on 17 points, six assists and six steals for the Spiders.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – COACH HOWLAND
"Obviously, that was a huge win for us. I have incredible respect for Richmond. They are such a well-coached and hard team to play against. They do a great job of running their offense, and I really commend our team on being able to play them on one day of preparation.
"I'm so happy for him [Tolu Smith]. He's an incredible young man and has wonderful people supporting him. He's a great team guy, and I'm so excited for him. I'm excited for the team to have him back. You can see how important of a role he plays on this team going forward."
"Our guys hung their heads for a moment, and I tried to do my best to lift them back up. I encouraged them and let them know that we had to keep fighting and deserved this game. Cam [Matthews] had a big basket to start that overtime. D.J. [Jefferies] and Cam particularly had a really good game defensively. Garrison [Brooks] had a good game but got in some foul trouble."
"Winning close games is always positive and helps create fortitude. Everyone was huge today defensively. They shot only 26 percent from three. That's excellent against a team like Richmond who shoots so well from the perimeter. All of their shots today were contested. We were playing better and gelling better in every aspect of the game today in comparison to Thursday's performance. I'm really happy for our team, and we want to build on this."
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM – TOLU SMITH
"I feel like my teammates, especially my guards, did a great job of getting me the ball. I think we rebounded well as well. Winning the battle of rebounds allowed us to play well and get the win. People didn't see the countless hours in the gym when the doors were closed. I worked hard to be able to shine and show people what I can do. Having the ability to come back out here and compete is all His glory."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Both teams started strong offensively hitting five of its first seven shots. Brooks scored seven of State's opening 14 points. The two teams were all square at 14-14 with 13:02 remaining.
Trailing 25-20 at the 7:58 mark, the Bulldogs closed the opening half on a 16-4 spurt to take a 36-29 advantage into the locker room.
The Bulldogs started the run with 10 consecutive points highlighted by a Brooks transition dunk from Molinar coupled with a Jeffries three-pointer from the right wing.
Molinar capped the half with a driving floater in the lane which ended in a Richmond goal tending call. State's defense forced the Spiders to misfire on 11 of their last 13 shot attempts over the last eight minutes of the half to build the eight-point lead.
State kept the momentum on its side and captured its largest lead, 46-34 with 16:05 to go, after Brooks got a shooter's roll on a driving layup.
The Spiders crept back to within six at 58-52 with 9:19 left, but Smith fired back with a left-handed layup in traffic and a putback layup to put the Bulldogs back in-front 62-52 at the 6:46 mark.
Richmond registered the last eight points in regulation over the closing 2:46 to even the score at 66-66 and send the contest into overtime.
The extra session began with a bang for the Bulldogs as Matthews provided a contested bucket in the paint followed by a Molinar rise-and-fire triple on the right wing. Then, Molinar connected with Smith for a layup after breaking the Richmond press to make it 77-70 with 1:51 remaining.
On State's next possession, Molinar drove late shot clock and found Moore for a corner three-ball to extend the Maroon and White advantage to nine and salt the contest away.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs head into the December portion of their schedule with a pair of home matchups with Lamar (Dec. 2 – 7 p.m. CT) and Minnesota (Dec. 5 – 1 p.m. CT) at Humphrey Coliseum.
Thursday's game will be streamed online via SEC Network+ and the Watch ESPN app, while Sunday's contest will be nationally televised by the SEC Network.
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.
Baha Mar Bahamas Championship All-Tournament Team
Eric Ayala – Maryland
Tyler Burton – Richmond
Dre Davis – Louisville
Tolu Smith – Mississippi State
Malik Williams – Louisville (MVP)
Team Stats
MSU
UR
FG%
.527
.426
3FG%
.333
.267
FT%
.826
.733
RB
44
20
TO
19
9
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
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