Mississippi State
South Carolina
State Falls Short In SEC Opener
January 06, 2024 | Men's Basketball
MSU drops 68-62 decision to South Carolina.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Mississippi State closed a nine-point deficit down to two with 22 seconds to play, but the Bulldogs were unable to finish off the comeback as MSU fell 68-62 at South Carolina Saturday at Colonial Life Arena in both teams' Southeastern Conference opener.
The Dawgs outshot the Gamecocks 48 percent to 40 percent, but it wasn't enough for State due in large part to South Carolina's success crashing the glass. The Gamecocks held a 35-26 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive boards that resulted in 16 second-chance points.
"Zero chance to win games of this magnitude if we're getting outrebounded like that," State head coach Chris Jans said postgame. "That's all I talked about with the team in the locker room. We definitely were talking about it during the timeouts. In the second half, we had unbelievable stretches where we didn't get any offensive rebounds…That was the game."
South Carolina also benefitted from a strong 8-for-23 showing from three-point range and got to the free-throw line a dozen more times than State.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures in the defeat. Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith III scored 13 points apiece for MSU, while Shakeel Moore tallied 10. Cameron Matthews and Dashawn Davis were State's leading rebounders with five each.
Early on in Saturday's contest, it appeared the Dawgs might enjoy a much different outcome than what transpired. MSU led for the majority of the first half and held as much as an eight-point edge over the course of the first 20 minutes.
However, the Gamecocks went ahead for the first time with 1:48 left before halftime when a Meechie Johnson layup gave South Carolina a 27-26 lead. The Gamecocks rode that momentum to a 30-28 lead at the intermission and South Carolina never trailed in the second half.
Johnson led the way for the Gamecocks with 24 points and six rebounds. Myles Stute scored 15 for South Carolina and grabbed six boards of his own.
The Bulldogs will now attempt to bounce back from their loss on Wednesday as State hosts Tennessee at Humphrey Coliseum. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. in Starkville, and Jans knows his team must shake off Saturday and get ready for the Volunteers.
"We don't have a choice," Jans said. "We've got to turn the page."
