Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Murray State

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State outlasted Murray State in a high-scoring 85-81 battle to improve to 8-2 on the season.
The Bulldogs put up 53 points during the first half which marked the second straight game State recorded 50+ points during the opening stanza. The 53 points also were the third most by a Chris Jans coached team.
State drained 15 of its first 16 shot attempts and finished the first half with a 78.3 shooting clip (18-for-23), also a career watermark for a Coach Jans squad.
The Bulldogs ripped off 10 of the opening 13 points of the second half and took their largest lead, 63-44, at the 17:15 mark.
Murray State charged back to get within single digits, 67-58, with 11:23 remaining. The Racers would eventually go ahead 76-75 with 3:09 to go.
Trailing 81-80 with 28.0 seconds remaining, Dashawn Davis found Cameron Matthews for a two-handed slam off an out of bounds play. After a pair of defensive stops, D.J. Jeffries connected on 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to close out the 4-point victory.
Overall, the Bulldogs improved to 8-2 against Murray State. State has won eight straight meetings in the series dating back to the 1957-58 season.
With Coach Jans at the helm, State has won 20 of 24 games versus non-conference opponents.
The Bulldogs scored 33 of the game's 45 points off the bench. Over the last eight games, State has outscored its opponents, 328-134, in bench points.
State has won seven of its eight games this season and moved to 25-4 overall under Coach Jans when leading at the half.
The Bulldogs are 16-5 at home under Coach Jans, and he improved to 83-16 in home games over his eight-year coaching career.
The Maroon and White outscored 18 of their 27 field goals on the interior en route to outscoring the Racers by a 36-24 margin in the paint.
State drained 27-of-46 from the floor (58.7 percent), sank 7-of-20 from three-point territory (35.0 percent) and hit on 24-of-34 at the charity stripe (70.6 percent).
For the season, State has connected on 82 three-pointers which is tied for fourth-most in program history through 10 games with the 2010-11 squad.
Over the last two games, the Bulldogs have sank 68-of-116 (58.6 percent) from the field.
Conversely, Murray State turned in a 28-for-55 shooting effort (50.9 percent), was 12-for-23 on its three-pointers (52.2 percent) and produced a 13-for-17 clip from the free throw line (76.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Started his 44th consecutive game over the last two seasons between Mississippi State and West Virginia.
Overall, Bell Jr. has started in 108 of 125 career games.
Tacked on 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists.
The 3 blocks equaled a career-high. It marked his third game this season and his 8th career outing with multiple blocks.
Distributed 2+ assists for the 3rd time this season and 9th time of his career.

D.J. Jeffries

Started 75 of 78 career games at State.
Shined with a season-high tying 11 points, a season's best 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
Marked his 1st double-double of the season and the 5th of his career.
Registered 10+ points in three of his last four outings and tallied his 61st career game in double figures.
Knocked down a season's best five free throws.
MSU improved to 24-11 overall, while MSU and Memphis are a combined 45-16 when Jeffries finishes with double-digit points.
Grabbed 10+ rebounds for 2nd time this season and 9th time in his career.
Distributed 3+ assists for the 5th time this season and 32nd time of his career.
Finished with a team-leading +16 plus-minus ratio on the floor.
Over his last two games, Jeffries is a +57 during his court time.

Cameron Matthews

Started 43 of the team's 44 games over the last two seasons.
Tacked on 13 points on a 5-of-7 shooting clip and added 5 rebounds.
Marked his 3rd straight game in double figures and 6th game of the season.
Recorded 14 of his 17 double digit scoring performances over the last two seasons.
Collected 5+ rebounds in eight of 10 games this season. Overall, 30 of 48 games with 5+ rebounds have come during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

Dashawn Davis

Started 38 consecutive games and 39 of 41 games at State that he's played in.
Tucked away 6 points sparked by a 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
Tacked on 5 assists and 2 steals.
Marked the 2nd time this season and the 31st time of his career with 5+ assists.
Notched 23 of 36 career games with multiple steals over the last two seasons at State.

Shakeel Moore

Earned the nod in the starting five for the second consecutive game and has made 46 of his 48 career starts at State.
Fired in 14 of his season-high 16 points during the opening half.
Was a flawless 5-of-5 from the field, canned both of his three-point attempts and hit on four of his five foul shots.
Marked his second straight game in double figures. Overall, 29 of his 34 career games of 10+ points have come in Maroon and White.
Mississippi State and North Carolina State are a combined 24-10 when he scores 10+ points.
Dished out multiple assists for the 5th time this season and 59th time of his career.
Moore's lone steal gives him 114 for his career and vaults him into a tie for 23rd place with Gary Hooker (1976-77-78). He also passed Phil Turner (2008-09-10) during tonight's game.

Bench

Josh Hubbard recorded his ninth straight game in double figures with 15 points.
Posted a 3-of-7 mark from beyond the three-point arc and converted on 6-of-8 at the free throw line.
Through 10 games, Hubbard ranks 5th among State freshmen with 165 points, which also are the most since Rickey Brown (204 points – 1976-77).
For the season, 30 of Hubbard's 51 field goals (58.8 percent) are triples.
Registered his first career outings with two blocks.
Shawn Jones Jr. tucked away 7 points, all during the opening half.
Five of his top seven scoring performances have come this season.
Trey Fort and KeShawn Murphy each chipped in 4 points apiece.
Andrew Taylor came away with 3 points and 2 assists.
Marked his 3rd outing of the season and 101st career game with multiple assists.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. Murray State

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Players Mentioned

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Dashawn Davis

Trey Fort

Josh Hubbard

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

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