Mississippi State
14-9,5-5SEC
#19 Tennessee
17-6,8-3SEC
Bulldogs Come Up Just Short Against No. 18 Tennessee
February 09, 2022 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State fought its way back from an early 12-point deficit and held a lead with under five minutes to play, but the Bulldogs ultimately dropped a 72-63 decision to No. 18 Tennessee on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
After the Volunteers jumped out to a 23-11 advantage in the game's opening moments, State battled back to take a late first half lead. MSU used an 18-4 run to go up 29-27 with under five minutes to play in the first half. It was a back-and-forth affair all night long from that point on.
Tennessee led 35-33 at halftime. In the second period, the Bulldogs and Vols traded leads and the two teams were never separated by more than five points until the contest's closing seconds. The game featured nine different ties and seven lead changes.
MSU outshot Tennessee 50 percent to 49 percent and outrebounded the Vols 28-26, however it wasn't enough for the Bulldogs.
State was led offensively by Iverson Molinar. The veteran guard scored a team-high 16 points to go along with five assists. Garrison Brooks and D.J. Jeffries also reached double figures in scoring. Brooks totaled 15 points and just missed out on a double-double as he brought down eight rebounds. Jeffries scored 13.
- Mississippi State wiped away an early 12-point deficit in the first half. The game was all square at 61-61 at the 4:21 mark. No. 18 Tennessee ended the contest on an 11-2 run to tuck away the 72-63 decision.
- The Bulldogs fell to 14-9 and 5-5 in SEC play. Mississippi State now sit in sixth place in the SEC standings.
- Six of the team's nine losses have come against NCAA Net Quad 1 opponents, five of those six have come by single digits.
- Mississippi State dropped to 5-1 in SEC home games.
- As a team, the Bulldogs shot 22-of-44 from the floor (50.0 percent), 5-of-14 from three-point range (35.7 percent) and 14-of-23 from the free throw line (60.9 percent).
- Mississippi State has outrebounded its opponent in 18 of 23 games this season.
Iverson Molinar
- Led the squad with 16 points and five assists.
- Extended his streak to 23 consecutive games in double figures to start the season.
- Collected his eighth outing of 15-plus points and 5-plus assists.
- The 16 points moved Molinar over 1,100 career points.
- Chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
- Marked his third consecutive outing with 12-plus points and 8-plus rebounds.
- Was State's top rebounder for the 9th time this season and for the third straight game.
- Contributed 13 points, three rebounds and two assists
- Posted double figures in three of his last four outings.
- State fell to 10-3 when Jeffries has scored 10-plus points.
- Equaled his season's best with three steals.
- Provided eight points and three rebounds during his second straight start since coming back from injury.
- Added five points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals
- Tallied his team-leading 13th game this season with multiple steals
- Javian Davis, Andersson Garcia and Cameron Matthews each secured two points.
- Garcia was the team's second leading Bulldog rebounder with four boards.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State heads into the second half of four consecutive games against NCAA NET Quad 1 opponents with a road trip to LSU on Saturday. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. CT from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, televised by ESPN2 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.
