Postgame Notes: State at SMU

TEAM NOTES

For the third consecutive season, Mississippi State moved to 5-0 as the Bulldogs battled back to claim a hard-fought 84-79 comeback victory at SMU.
It marked the first matchup between the two programs on the hardwood, and the start of a home-and-home series where the Mustangs will play a return game at Humphrey Coliseum in 2025-26.
Coach Jans became the first coach in State history to start each of his first three seasons with a 5-0 record.
Coach Jans is the third coach in Bulldog history to start 2-0 in three straight seasons against current fellow Power 6 conference teams (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, former Pac 12) during each of his first three years. The others were Jim Hatfield in 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1980-1981 proceeded by Frank Carideo in 1935-36, 1936-37 and 1937-38.
State has dialed up wins in 28 of 32 games against non-SEC opponents during the Coach Jans era.
The Bulldogs have posted a 10-3 mark versus fellow non-conference Power 6 basketball schools (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, former Pac-12) under Coach Jans. Nine of the 10 wins have come on the road or neutral floors.
Coach Jans has registered 28 halftime comeback wins over his nine seasons as a Division I head coach. He has accomplished the feat eight times while at State.
It marked the third time during his coaching career and the first time at State that Coach Jans has overcame halftime deficits in back-to-back games.
The Bulldogs improved to 18-1 during the month of November with Coach Jans at the helm.
State trailed by 13 points on two occasions at 21-8 and 23-10 in the first half before cutting the deficit down to 38-33.
The Maroon and White ripped off a 25-12 over the opening 9:11 of the second half to turn the halftime margin into its largest advantage at 58-50 with 10:49 left.
SMU would put together a rally of its own and tie the score on two occasions.
All square at 66-66 at the 5:49 mark, the Bulldogs connected a Cameron Matthews fastbreak layup, a KeShawn Murphy three-pointer and a Kanye Clary free throw to go up by six points at 72-66 with 3:58 to go.
Up 76-75 inside the final minute, Riley Kugel cut the baseline for a two-handed dunk courtesy of Matthews. After a defensive stop, Kugel added a pair of free throws to put the Bulldogs back up by five points.
State would ultimately win the second 20 minutes by a 51-41 scoreline.
The Bulldogs had five players secure double figures for the 2nd time this season and for the 3rd time under Chris Jans. State improved to 3-0 when accomplishing the feat.
Four of the five players who scored in double figures came off the bench. Dating back to 1986-87, the only other time in program history that happened was against Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 1, 1988.
State scored 17 of its 28 field goals on the interior en route to 34-30 edge in paint points.
The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, 37-33. It marked the 50th time in 74 games as State improved to 38-12 when outrebounding its opponent under Coach Jans.
The Maroon and White grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and won second-chance point opportunities, 16-5.
As a team, State connected on 28-for-68 from the field (41.2 percent), notched a 9-of-26 clip from three-point territory (34.6 percent) and sank 19-for-25 at the foul line (76.0 percent).
The Bulldogs advanced to 26-6 in the Coach Jans era when sinking at least 15 foul shots.
On the other hand, SMU recorded a 24-of-47 shooting effort (51.1 percent), hit 8-for-23 of its three-pointers (34.8 percent) and knocked down 23-of-34 at the charity stripe (67.6 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Kanye Clary

Made his third start in Maroon and White and his 23rd career start.
Secured eight points to go along with four assists versus zero turnovers and three boards.
Multiple assists during three of four games at State.
His 28th career outings with multiple dimes.

Josh Hubbard

Started in his 19th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Contributed 14 points to go along with five dimes against zero turnovers and a steal.
Notched double figures for the 35th time in 40 career games.
Compiled 699 points in his career, which is third in school history for a freshmen and sophomores through 40 career games. He trails only Ray White (707 points) and Rich Knarr (700 points) from the 1970s.
Buried at least one trey in 18 consecutive games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
Drained multiple triples for the 34th time of his career.
Through five games, Hubbard is shooting an efficient 36-of-72 (50.0 percent) from the field and a healthy 20-of-40 clip (50.0 percent) on three-pointers.
Dished out five or more assists for the third time in the last four games and at least two dimes in 22 career games.

Shawn Jones Jr.

Made his 12th start of his career and has been inserted into the starting five in 11 of the team's last 18 outings dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 72 of the team's last 74 games spanning a four-season span.
Filled the stat sheet a career-high eight assists coupled with six points, five rebounds and three steals.
Dished out at least five assists for the 13th outing of his career as State improved to 9-4 in those games.
Hauled down at least five boards for the 70th time of his career.
The five rebounds enabled Matthews to surpass Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 19th place in program history.
Swiped multiple steals for the 59th game of his career.
The two steals give Matthews 204 for his career, which sits him in sole possession of 3rd place in program history.
Matthews is two steals away from surpassing Derrick Zimmerman (2000-01-02-03) for the No. 2 spot.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 3rd start as a Bulldog, and the 4th start of his career.
Scored State's first points of the contest on a layup courtesy of Cameron Matthews.
Secured four rebounds to go along with his two points.

Bench

State's bench racked up a season's best 54 points on its way to doubling up the Mustangs by a 54-27 margin.
The Bulldogs have amassed at least 50 points from their bench in two games this season and three times total under Coach Jans.
KeShawn Murphy provided a team-leading 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
His third game in a row with double-digit points and the first time he's reached that feat in three consecutive games during his career.
State improved to 8-1 when Murphy scores double-digit points.
Grabbed at least five rebound for the fourth time in five games this season and for the 12th time of his career.
The three blocks matched Murphy's career watermark which was originally set versus Omaha on 11/28/2022.
Swatted multiple blocks for the 3rd time this season and the 6th time of his career.
Registered a +16 plus/minus rating which was second on the squad during tonight's game.
Added two steals, his 4th occasion with multiple steals.
RJ Melendez pumped home 11 of his season's best 15 points during the second half.
Sank all six of his free throws, four of them coming during the second half.
Recorded double figures for the 30th time of his career.
Tacked on five rebounds and an assist.
Riley Kugel came away with 10 of his 13 points in the second half.
Has back-to-back games in double figures off the bench.
Reached double-figures for the third time in four games and the 32nd time of his career.
Grabbed six boards with a dime and a takeaway.
Impacted the squad with a team-leading +18 plus-minus rating.
Claudell Harris Jr. added 10 points and chipped two steals.
Reached double figures for 3rd time this season, and the 74th time of his career.
Collected his 62nd career game knocking down multiple treys.
Had multiple steals for the 26th time of his career.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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