Men's Hoops Drops 69-65 Decision At LSU

Saturday, February 12

Baton Rouge, La.

7:00 p.m.

Mississippi State

14-10,5-6SEC

LSU

18-7,6-6SEC

Mississippi St.

LSU

Men's Hoops Drops 69-65 Decision At LSU

February 12, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score WATCH: Coach Howland & Tolu Smith Presser Box Score (PDF)Quotes (PDF)

by Matt Dunaway, Director/Communications

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Mississippi State's men's basketball team fought back from a 15-point intermission deficit to take a brief lead midway through the second half, but LSU emerged with a 69-65 decision on Saturday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs (14-10, 5-6 SEC) were led by Iverson Molinar, Garrison Brooks and Tolu Smith who piled up 36 of their combined 52 points during the second half.

Molinar ripped off a game-leading 26 points, ignited by a perfect 10-for-10 clip at the foul line. Smith added 15 points on a 7-of-9 shooting effort coupled with seven rebounds, while Brooks tacked on his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points, 11 rebounds and a season's best five assists. D.J. Jeffries tacked on eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

Mississippi State connected on 18 of its 21 field goals inside the paint en route to a 36-28 advantage on the interior.

The Bulldogs made their move with a 21-6 flurry over the opening 8:19 of the second half. State got within single digits, 39-30 at the 17:19 mark, courtesy of a Jeffries coast-to-coast fastbreak layup.

The Bulldogs kept charging on an Iverson Molinar traditional three-point play. Then, Molinar drove and dished to Brooks for a dunk. Molinar drained a triple from Jeffries to knot the score at 43-43 with 11:41 left.

State took a brief lead at 48-45 with 9:18 remaining as Molinar found Shakeel Moore for a top of the key triple. The Tigers (18-7, 6-6 SEC) answered back with a 13-2 spurt of their own to regain momentum.

Key stats for LSU included forcing the Maroon and White into 18 turnovers which resulted in 20 of the game's 28 points off miscues. LSU also tallied 35 of the contest's 40 points off the bench. Tari Eason, a frontrunner for the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year award, scored a team-leading 23 points.

FROM THE BENCH – COACH HOWLAND
"I thought that we started out the game really well. I was very happy with our defense getting us out to a 7-0 start. We really lost control of the game about four minutes into the first half. We had way too many turnovers, including 11 in the first half, which is way too many. We got sped up by the press a little bit … We've just got to do a better job handling our possessions."

"[Going] 3-for-17 from three-point range is not going to get the job done on the road. We also have to knock down our foul shots. Iverson [Molinar] was 10-of-10, but the rest of the team was 10-of-18. We had a key spot where we were down one and missed two free throws in a row after a really nice pass. You just can't make those kinds of mistakes in a road game. They scored 20 points off our turnovers. That was the biggest difference in the game."

"We have seven games left in the [regular] season. We're 14-10 [overall] and 5-6 [in conference play]. LSU, who's in the tournament, just evened up their record at 6-6 {in conference play]. That's where Alabama is as well. We've got to get ready to play them because they won today. We're playing in such a great and competitive league. Every game is a dog fight. We've got to find a way to break through this slump having lost five of the last six."

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State erased a 15-point deficit halftime deficit aided by a 21-6 run to start the second half.
The Bulldogs fell to 14-10 overall and 5-6 in SEC play. Mississippi State now sits in eighth place in the SEC standings.
Seven of State's 10 losses have come against NCAA NET Quad 1 foes. Six of the seven setbacks have come either on the road or at a neutral site. Six of the seven outings also have come by single digits.
The Bulldogs outscored LSU by a 36-28 advantage in the paint. State has won the paint points category in 18 of their 24 games this season.
The Maroon and White held a 37-31 rebounding edge. State has won the battle of the boards on 19 occasions this season.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 21-of-53 from the floor (39.6 percent), 3-of-17 from three-point range (17.6 percent) and 20-of-28 from the free throw line (71.4 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Iverson Molinar

Headlined the team with 26-point performance and was perfect 10-of-10 on free throws.
Extended his streak to 24 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
Passed W.D. Stroud (1961-62-63), Tyrone Washington (1996-97-98-99) and Greg Carter (1988-89-90-91) to move into sole possession of 32nd place on the program's all-time scoring list.
Amassed 20-plus points in five of his last 10 outings.
Marked his 17th career game of 20-plus points where State has posted a 13-4 record.

Garrison Brooks

Contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds and a season's best five assists.
Collected his fourth double-double this season and second in his last three games.
15 of his 19 career double-doubles are versus Power 5 opponents.
Seven of his 11 boards came on the offensive glass.
The seven offensive boards are the most by a State player this season
The team's leading rebounder for the 10th time this season and 4th consecutive game

DJ Jeffries

Added eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

Tolu Smith

Tallied 11 of his 15 points and five of his seven rebounds during the second half.
Scored in double figures in eight of 11 games this season and 28 of his 41 games at MSU.

Rocket Watts

Made his first career start at Mississippi State.

Bench

Shakeel Moore contributed three points, four rebounds and an assist.
Andersson Garcia dished out two assists and collected a steal.

UP NEXT
Mississippi State closes out its span of four consecutive games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents with a return trip to Alabama on Wednesday. Tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from Coleman Coliseum, televised by ESPN2 or ESPNU and streaming online courtesy of the ESPN app and www.ESPN.com/watch.

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.