Postgame Notes: MSU at South Carolina

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State dialed up a convincing 66-51 victory over South Carolina to earn its first SEC road win of the season.
Leading into tonight's game, the Bulldogs previous SEC road tilts have been at No. 2 Alabama, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 21 Auburn and Georgia.
State has captured two consecutive wins to improve to 14-8 overall and 2-7 in SEC action.
The Bulldogs have won five of six over the last three seasons and nine of the last 12 in the series over South Carolina dating back to 2017-18.
Overall, State improved to 28-17 against the Gamecocks. The 15-point win is the program's second largest margin of victory during the 21 meetings in Columbia.
A key to the Maroon and White's win was the ability to control three specialty categories headlined by a 19-2 edge in fastbreak points. The Bulldogs forced South Carolina into 18 turnovers en route to a 21-11 advantage in points off miscues.
State made 21 of its 27 field goals on the interior for a 42-16 advantage in paint points. The Bulldogs have outscored its opponents during 15 of 22 games this season on points inside the lane.
State passed out 18 assists on its 27 field goals. Over their last two games, the Bulldogs have distributed 43 assists on 56 baskets.
State outrounded the Gamecocks by a 33-27 margin. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 14 games when winning the battle of the boards.
Defensively, the Maroon and White came away with 11 steals which marked the 11th occasion with double-digit steals this season.
The two teams played within two possessions of each during the contest's first 16 minutes. Trailing 22-21 with 4:25 left, the Bulldogs closed the stanza with 11 of the last 15 points to jump ahead 32-26 at halftime.
State would add on with the opening six points of the second half courtesy of layups from Shakeel Moore, Dashawn Davis and Tolu Smith to extend the lead to 38-26 with 17:56 to go.
Up 54-44 at the 6:09 mark, State delivered the knockout blow with a 12-2 spurt capped by a Smith dunk from Cameron Matthews to make it 66-46 with 2:07 remaining. The Bulldogs made seven straight shots over a 6:29 span starting at the 8:46 mark.
As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 27-of-51 from the floor (52.9 percent), 3-of-12 from three-point territory (25.0 percent) and 9-of-12 from the free throw line (75.0 percent).
The 52.9 shooting clip was State's best for the season and the second straight game shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
Conversely, South Carolina was 18-of-53 on its shot attempts (34.0 percent), made 8-of-24 of its triples (33.3 percent) and were 7-of-14 at the charity stripe (50.0 percent).
On the defensive end, the Bulldogs have held eight opponents to under 35 percent shooting.

PLAYER NOTES

Shakeel Moore

Fueled the Bulldogs with a career high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
The nine field goals made also are a career-best.
His second career outing of 20-plus points.
Scored in double figures during four of the last five and five of his last seven outings.
Garnered 19 of his 24 career games of 10+ points at MSU.
MSU and North Carolina State are 17-7 in games where Moore has scored in double figures.
Added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Dished out 3+ assists 22 times at MSU with 12 occasions coming against SEC opponents.
Amassed 97 steals over 54 career games with multiple steals 30 times at MSU.
Knocked down multiple three-pointers in 27 career games, 20 times at MSU.
Made 32 of his 34 career starts at MSU.

Tolu Smith

Tallied 11 of his 15 points during the second half to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Moved to within 7 points of becoming the 6th MSU player since 2017-18 and 42nd player overall to reach 1,000 career points.
Extended his streak to six straight games with 10+ points and has reached double digit points in 53 of 73 career games at State.
Provided multiple assists in three straight games and nine times in 2022-23.
Started in 72 of 73 career outings for State.

D.J. Jeffries

Chipped in seven points and four rebounds.
Drew to within 23 points from reaching 1,000 for his career
Started 53 of his 56 career games at MSU.

Cameron Matthews

Pitched in eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
The eight points matched his SEC season-high this season.
Handed out multiple assists 15 times in 2022-23 and on 33 occasions over his career.

Dashawn Davis

Dished out five assists coupled with four rebounds and three steals
Reached 5+ assists on four occasions this season and 23 times over his career.
Turned in multiple steals in five of his last six, nine occasions in 2022-23 and 22 times during his career

Bench

Tyler Stevenson was State's top scorer with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
By himself, Stevenson outscored South Carolina, 12-9, in bench points.
Marked his fourth game this season and 71st career game in double figures.
Will McNair Jr. added five rebounds and a season-high two blocks.
His eight outing with 5+ boards.
Eric Reed Jr. secured three assists en route to his second straight, fourth overall in 2022-23 and 26th time in his career with multiple dimes.

Postgame Notes: MSU at South Carolina

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU at South Carolina

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

Eric Reed Jr.

Tolu Smith III

Tyler Stevenson

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