Mississippi State
2-0,0-0SEC
Akron
1-1,0-0MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi St. | 35 | 38 | 73 |
| Akron | 27 | 27 | 54 |
Dawgs Too Tough For Akron
November 11, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
State rolls late in 73-54 win over Zips.
PHILADELPHIA – Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans has emphasized he wants a team that's tough night in and night out. On Friday, the Bulldogs showed once again they're listening to their leader.
For the second time in as many games this season, MSU used a second-half surge to roll to a win as State topped Akron 73-54 at the Barstool Sports Invitational. After leading all night long before the Zips charged back following the intermission to take a one-point lead, the Dawgs used a 21-5 run to pull away before finishing off the victory.
"I thought that was the best part of the game in the end was we faced some adversity with the score again," Jans said. "[When that happened, our] huddles were good. They were tighter. Guys were starting to say the right things to one another about sticking together and sticking to the plan and taking it one possession at a time and that was a good sign. I thought the response from the guys on the floor once they made that run and we found ourselves down was really, really good and was probably my favorite part of the night."
Tolu Smith, who finished with a team-best 26 points, scored six of them over a near-eight-minute stretch as MSU rallied to turn a 39-38 deficit into a 59-44 lead. D.J. Jeffries also came up big as he tallied five of his 15 points during the Dawgs' game-altering run.
"The game of basketball is a game of runs," Jeffries said. "Like I told the guys, [Akron] gave us their best punch, so we've just got to keep pushing. We knew we were the better team, so we just had to come out and respond to adversity. That's what we did and came back and punched them right back in the mouth."
The Dawgs had actually been punching for most of the evening before finally delivering their second-half haymaker.
Mississippi State took control of the contest immediately as Smith had a putback less than 30 seconds in and Jeffries soon added a dunk for an early 4-0 lead. The Bulldogs controlled the first 20 minutes from there.
Eric Reed Jr. gave State a 21-14 lead with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 6:17 left before halftime. Akron responded and got back within four before Jeffries drilled a trey of his own to make it 29-22.
By the time the half rolled around, MSU led 35-27 and was in a good spot, but the Zips soon charged back.
Jamel Horton Jr.'s left-wing three-ball put the Dawgs up 38-30 less than a minute into the second half before Akron rolled off nine unanswered points to go in front. Rather than call a timeout, Jans elected to see if his team could respond with the grit and toughness he wants. Turns out, that answer was a resounding yes.
Eight minutes or so later, with 8:29 left on the clock, Cameron Matthews' three finished off State's furious rally that reestablished control. Everyone in Maroon and White loved to see it.
"I was so ecstatic and so excited everybody was making shots and defending and rebounding," Smith said. "I was just excited for my team."
So many played a part in the triumph. There was Smith of course, who finished just two rebounds shy of a second-straight double-double.
"He doesn't want to say it, but he dominated," Jeffries said of Smith postgame.
Of course, Jeffries had big moments as well. So, too, did Dashawn Davis who perhaps exemplified toughness as much as anyone on Friday.
After injuring his ankle early in the second half in State's season-opener on Monday and being a game-time decision against Akron, Davis fought his way back to the floor and contributed eight points, four assists and a pair of rebounds.
"What a gutty performance," Jans said. "Andrew Kegley, our trainer, and Dashawn worked tirelessly to get him back to be able to perform on the court. I'm proud of him and the way he played. He kept it in himself and didn't get sped up."
Davis and his teammates will get the chance to show off their toughness once again come Sunday. That's when Mississippi State returns to the floor in a 2 p.m. home game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. It'll be MSU's third game in seven days and second in under 48 hours.
It won't be easy. The Dawgs will have to dig deep. But so far this year, that seems like something this group under Jans' leadership doesn't mind at all.
"It's a quick turnaround and it's against a team that most basketball people would look at like, 'That's going to be an easy one.' Well it's not," Jans said. "If you've been following Pine Bluff, Monday night, they went to TCU in the opener against a Top 10 or Top 15 team and shot a ball at the buzzer and lost by one. If it goes in, it's one of the biggest upsets in college basketball to this point in the season. So, they're going to play with a lot of confidence and it's going to be a quick turnaround for us, and we'll have to be ready to go."
