Mississippi State
5-0,0-0SEC
SMU
4-2,0-0ACC
The Final Horn: State 84, SMU 79
November 22, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
A quick rundown of MSU’s win over the Mustangs.
THE BOTTOM LINE: For the second straight game, Mississippi State used second-half firepower to rally and earn victory as the Bulldogs moved to 5-0 this season courtesy of an 84-79 triumph over SMU at Moody Coliseum. MSU's first true road test of the season didn't get off to the best of starts, but all is well that ends well and the Dawgs' final 20 minutes served to erase any early doldrums. SMU led by as many as 13 points in the first half and State found itself down 38-33 at the intermission. However, after shooting only 31.6 percent as a team in the first period, MSU shot 53.3 as a group after halftime to surge to the win.
KEY NUMBERS: Capitalizing on turnovers and bringing down offensive rebounds proved to be critical for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs scored 13 of their points off of Mustang turnovers, and MSU gathered 16 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second-chance points. Individually, State's reserves accounted for the majority of MSU's scoring to pave the way for victory. Four different players came off the Bulldog bench to score at least 10 points with KeShawn Murphy totaling a team-high 16, RJ Melendez tallying 15, Riley Kugel totaling 13 and Claudell Harris Jr. notching 10. All told, MSU's bench put up 54 of the team's 84 points. Josh Hubbard was the lone State starter to reach double figures with his 14 points.
SOCIAL MEDIA SCENES:
J-Hubb from deep 🎯#HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/1groSpBrUi
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
Kanye step back 👌#HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/7nsEWBMuF5
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
MURPH FOR THREE! @kballer_21 has a team-high 12 points and the Dawgs are within one! #HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/QrxwmAmnnV
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
MURPH BLOCK. RJ THREE. 7-0 RUN! #HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/4qiaNS9aNP
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
Ball movement ➡️ Harris three
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
It's a 12-2 run for State!#HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/zPZI5xxHRn
KESHAWN MURPHY. FIVE POINT LEAD. #HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/S3sQu9QNUd
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
KUGEL SLAM!!!!!#HailState🐶 | 📺 https://t.co/scg8biMSsN pic.twitter.com/bBMLnBR0qK
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
Road Dub ✔️
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 23, 2024
5-0. #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/mDT1gURS3D
NEXT UP FOR THE DAWGS: Mississippi State gets nearly a full week off before returning to action on Thanksgiving night at the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe. MSU plays its first game of the event against UNLV at 8:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 28. The contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network.
