Saturday, January 8
Oxford, Miss.
7:30 p.m.
Mississippi State
10-4,1-1SEC
72
at
82
Ole Miss
9-5,1-1SEC
1
2
F
Mississippi St.
36
36
72
Ole Miss
50
32
82
Postgame Notes & Recap: MSU at Ole Miss
January 08, 2022 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Mississippi – Long-range shooting proved to be the difference as the Mississippi State men's basketball team fell 82-72 to Ole Miss on Saturday night at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
The Rebels (9-5, 1-1 SEC) made 11-of-23 shots from beyond the three-point line, which included going 9-for-14 clip from deep in the first half.
State (10-4, 1-1 SEC) trailed 50-36 at the intermission, and Ole Miss stretched its advantage out to as many as 20 points, 59-39, at the 17:12 mark of the second half.
Down, but not out, the Bulldogs tried to stage a comeback over the final 17 minutes.
Garrison Brooks scored 12 points during the second half to aid the State rally. Brooks and Iverson Molinar ended the night tied with a team-high 16 points.
D.J. Jeffries also reached double figures with 13 points, while Cameron Matthews just missed out on a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
With just over four minutes to play, Mississippi State trimmed the deficit to get as close as 73-66 after two Jeffries free throws.
FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND
"Obviously, the first half was really disappointing with the way they came out and jumped on us. I thought they were just tougher than we were in the first half, especially on the glass. Nysier Brooks had eight offensive rebounds for the game and five in the first half. Matthew Murrell really got it going on early, and we did not respond because he had 23 points at halftime. We did a better job in the second half because we played better defensively and cut the lead down to seven with four minutes to go. Spotting a good team on their home floor a 14-point lead is a really hard obstacle to overcome."
"Give them credit, I thought Murrell was fantastic, only missing one shot and playing phenomenal from the three-point line. Brooks was dominant on the glass with 16 rebounds to go with his 15 points. [Daeshun] Ruffin was good tonight as well was [Jaemyn] Brakefield. They all played well tonight and took it to us. We've got to regroup, learn from this as a team, watch the film on Monday and rebound as a team Wednesday against Georgia."
UP NEXT
Mississippi State spends the following week back at Humphrey Coliseum with matchups against Georgia on Wednesday and No. 15 Alabama next Saturday. The UGA matchup is slated for a 6 p.m. CT tip time televised by the SEC Network and streamed 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.
The Rebels (9-5, 1-1 SEC) made 11-of-23 shots from beyond the three-point line, which included going 9-for-14 clip from deep in the first half.
State (10-4, 1-1 SEC) trailed 50-36 at the intermission, and Ole Miss stretched its advantage out to as many as 20 points, 59-39, at the 17:12 mark of the second half.
Down, but not out, the Bulldogs tried to stage a comeback over the final 17 minutes.
Garrison Brooks scored 12 points during the second half to aid the State rally. Brooks and Iverson Molinar ended the night tied with a team-high 16 points.
D.J. Jeffries also reached double figures with 13 points, while Cameron Matthews just missed out on a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
With just over four minutes to play, Mississippi State trimmed the deficit to get as close as 73-66 after two Jeffries free throws.
FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND
"Obviously, the first half was really disappointing with the way they came out and jumped on us. I thought they were just tougher than we were in the first half, especially on the glass. Nysier Brooks had eight offensive rebounds for the game and five in the first half. Matthew Murrell really got it going on early, and we did not respond because he had 23 points at halftime. We did a better job in the second half because we played better defensively and cut the lead down to seven with four minutes to go. Spotting a good team on their home floor a 14-point lead is a really hard obstacle to overcome."
"Give them credit, I thought Murrell was fantastic, only missing one shot and playing phenomenal from the three-point line. Brooks was dominant on the glass with 16 rebounds to go with his 15 points. [Daeshun] Ruffin was good tonight as well was [Jaemyn] Brakefield. They all played well tonight and took it to us. We've got to regroup, learn from this as a team, watch the film on Monday and rebound as a team Wednesday against Georgia."
UP NEXT
Mississippi State spends the following week back at Humphrey Coliseum with matchups against Georgia on Wednesday and No. 15 Alabama next Saturday. The UGA matchup is slated for a 6 p.m. CT tip time televised by the SEC Network and streamed 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.
POSTGAME NOTES
Iverson Molinar
- Contributed 16 points on 7-for-12 from the floor
- Extend his streak to 14 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
- Grabbed five rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists.
- Returned to double figures with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
- His ninth game in double figures this season and third in his last four outings.
- Added eight rebounds and two assists.
- Chipped in 13 points for the fifth consecutive game in double figures.
- Nearly collected his first career double-double with nine points and a team-leading 10 rebounds.
- Led State in boards for the fourth time this season and his second time with 10-plus rebounds during his career.
- Dished out a season-high tying four assists and garnered three steals to give him six games with multiple steals this season.
- Rocket Watts led all Bulldog scorers off the bench with five points.
- Andersson Garcia amounted for two steals which marked his fourth game with multiple steals this season.
Team Stats
MSU
OM
FG%
.441
.509
3FG%
.188
.478
FT%
.692
.722
RB
37
36
TO
11
12
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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