Mississippi State
13-6,4-3SEC
#12 Kentucky
16-4,6-2SEC
Postgame Notes & Recap: MSU at No. 12 Kentucky
January 25, 2022 | Men's Basketball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mississippi State rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but ultimately fell 82-74 on the road against No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs trailed 45-29 with less than 17 minutes left to play before staging a furious comeback. MSU outscored Kentucky 43-27 over the final 16:32 of regulation to even the score at 72-all and force an extra period. However, the Wildcats held a 10-2 edge in overtime to ultimately deny the Bulldogs.
State's late surge was fueled by the play of Iverson Molinar. Molinar scored 22 of his career-high 30 points after halftime. He's now scored 20 or more points in four of his last five games.
Shakeel Moore also had a big second half for MSU. Moore was held scoreless in the first half, then scored nine points following the intermission by going 3-for-3 from three-point range.
In addition to Molinar, Garrison Brooks reached double figures in scoring for State. He totaled 11 points. Cameron Matthews brought down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs shot 43 percent as a team, including a red-hot 62 percent mark in the second half to get back in the game. After trailing since falling behind 9-6 just over three minutes into the game, Mississippi State tied things up at 62-62 with 4:16 left in regulation.
The Bulldogs then fell back down by five before rallying again to knot things up with 22 seconds left on the clock. A three-point attempt by Kentucky at the buzzer was no good, extending the game.
In overtime, the two teams traded buckets to start the extra stanza. However, the Wildcats closed the game on an 8-0 run to clinch the win.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State will step out of conference play and take on No. 13 Texas Tech as part of Saturday's Big 12/SEC Challenge. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT from United Supermarkets Arena televised by ESPN2 and streamed online 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.
- Mississippi State overcame a 16-point deficit during the second half to force overtime but dropped an 82-74 decision at No. 12 Kentucky.
- The Bulldogs now sit at 13-6 overall and 4-3 in SEC action.
- Tonight's game opened a stretch of six of the next seven games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents for the Maroon and White.
- Mississippi State outscored the Wildcats by a 43-27 margin over the last 16:32 of regulation. The Bulldogs connected on an 18-of-29 shooting clip (62.1 percent) in the second half.
- As a team, Mississippi State shot 27-of-63 from the field (42.9 percent), 6-of-19 from three-point territory (31.6 percent) and 14-of-23 at the foul line (60.9 percent).
- The Bulldogs hit on 19 of their 27 shots on the interior to claim a 38-36 advantage in paint points. State has scored more paint points in 16 of 19 games this season.
- The eight-point margin of victory for Kentucky is their lowest at home on the season.
Iverson Molinar
- Racked up 22 of his career-high 30 points after halftime.
- The last time a MSU player to score 30 points during a SEC game was Quinndary Weatherspoon who at Georgia on Feb. 20, 2019.
- Extended his streak to 19 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
- The 19-game run is the longest for a MSU player to start the season since Tony Watts piled up 10-plus points during all 28 games in 1991-92.
- Connected for a career-best 13 field goals.
- Marked his 15th career game of 20-plus points, State fell to 12-3 in those games.
- Collected his sixth 20-plus point outing this season and his fourth in the last five outings.
- Equaled his season's best three steals and matched a career-high with two blocks.
- Multiple steals in five of his last six outings.
- Accounted for nine points, all during the second half, on a trio of three-pointers.
- Handed out a team-leading four assists.
- Canned multiple treys for the third consecutive game and for the 11th time this season.
- Pitched in 11 points and added five rebounds
- Chipped in double figures in six of his last nine outings.
- 55 of his 72 career games of 10-plus points have come over his last three seasons.
- Started his eighth game of the season.
- Tacked on four points, a team-leading eight rebounds and tied his career-best four steals.
- Provided multiple steals in six of his last nine games
- Registered five points and four rebounds.
- Top performers off the bench for State included Rocket Watts and Javian Davis.
- Watts dialed up a SEC season's best nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.
- Davis notched six rebounds and three rebounds.
