Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Postgame Notes: Mississippi State vs. Vanderbilt
February 26, 2022 | Men's Basketball
TEAM NOTES
- Mississippi State earned its third win when facing a halftime deficit this season en route to a 74-69 victory over Vanderbilt.
- State has recorded 25 halftime comeback wins under Coach Howland with 16 coming against SEC opponents
- With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 17-12, and 8-8 in SEC action. The Maroon and White will sit no worse than a tie for sixth place in the SEC standings at day's end pending results between South Carolina-No. 24 Alabama and Missouri-LSU later tonight.
- Mississippi State has won four of its last five contests against the Commodores and improve to 6-3 with Coach Howland at the helm.
- The Bulldogs move to 36-24 at home all-time versus Vanderbilt and have won 10 of the 13 meetings during the 2000s at Humphrey Coliseum.
- Mississippi State had multiple players, Iverson Molinar and Tolu Smith, contribute 20 or more points in a single game this season.
- It marked the first time that Molinar and Smith have accomplished 20-plus points together. Smith notched the feat with Derek Fountain and D.J. Stewart Jr., while Molinar did the feat with Stewart Jr. three times last season.
- The Bulldogs sank 16 of their 25 fields goals inside the lane to claim a 32-26 edge in paint points. The Maroon and White also equaled a season-high 31 points off the bench.
- As a unit, State shot 25-of-50 from the floor (50.0 percent), 1-of-6 from three-point range (16.7 percent) and 23-of-32 from the free throw line (71.9 percent).
- The Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in 12 games this season.
PLAYER NOTES
Iverson Molinar
- Poured in 20 points, 11 coming during the second half.
- Was 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-7 at the foul line.
- Became the 28th player overall in Mississippi State history and the fifth player under Coach Howland to amass over 1,200 career points.
- Passed Mario Austin (2001-02-03) on the program's all-time scoring list.
- Extended his streak to 29 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
- The 29-game streak is the longest by a Mississippi State player since Jeff Malone's 31 consecutive games over the course of the 1982-83 season.
- Captured his 19th career game of 20-plus points, MSU is 14-5 in those games.
- Tallied his 12th game with multiple steals this season.
- Contributed nine points in his return to the starting lineup.
- Recorded his 17th game and fourth consecutive outing with multiple steals.
- Notched two-plus steals in 28 of 54 career games.
- Pitched in four points, four rebounds and four assists.
- The four assists are his second-highest output on the season.
- Added seven points and four rebounds.
- Tolu Smith equaled a season's best and racked up a SEC season-high 22 points coupled with a game-leading eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Smith was 8-of-13 shooting and 6-of-11 at the free throw line.
- Smith has registered double figures in 11 of 16 games in 2021-22 and 31 of 46 career games at Mississippi State.
- Smith recorded his seventh career 20-point game and fifth against an SEC opponent.
- Andersson Garcia had a solid all-around performance with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- State improves to 6-0 when Garcia scores at least seven points this season.
Players Mentioned
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