Postgame Notes: No. 17 State vs. Bethune-Cookman

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State posted its sixth consecutive victory for the second time this season and finished the 2024 calendar year with an 87-73 triumph over Bethune-Cookman on Monday at Humphrey Coliseum to improve to 12-1 heading into SEC play.
State and Cookman were meeting for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs have won all three games in the series by an average of 17.7 points per contest.
The Bulldogs have secured a 35-3 record during non-conference regular season contests under Coach Jans.
The 35 wins are the most for a State coach over a three-season span in program history.
The Josh Hubbard, Claudell Harris Jr., RJ Melendez, Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko combination started its third consecutive game and improved to 4-0 on the season.
State had at least four players secure double figures for the seventh time this season where the Bulldogs are 6-1 and 19-5 overall under Coach Jans.
The Bulldogs racked up a season's best 52 points during the first half. The 52 first-half points also are State's second-highest total under the direction of Coach Jans.
State notched 11 steals and has registered 10+ steals for the seventh time this season. The Bulldogs have notched double-digit steals on 31 occasions under Coach Jans with a cumulative 25-6 record when accomplishing the feat.
For the season, State has amassed 135 steals which ties the program's watermark through 13 games with the 1991-92 squad.
The Bulldogs committed nine turnovers and have registered single-digit miscues seven times this season.
For the season, State has been forced into 123 turnovers which shatters the program-low through 13 games. The previous mark was 153 miscues in 2016-17.
The Bulldogs advanced to 8-0 on the season and to 42-5 when leading at halftime with Coach Jans at the helm.
State moved to 7-0 on the season and are now 45-7 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent under Coach Jans.
The Maroon and White advanced to 6-0 this season and 15-3 overall during the month of December under the direction of Coach Jans.
The Bulldogs scored 23 of their 31 field goals on the interior en route to a 46-36 advantage in paint points.
State forced 17 turnovers by the Wildcats and was able to convert 24 of the game's 32 points off takeaways. The Maroon and White has outscored its opponent in this category during 11 of 13 games on the season.
The Bulldogs converted 21 of the game's 30 fastbreak points and also outscored Cookman by a 13-9 margin on second-chance opportunities.
As a team, State connected on 31-of-61 from the field (50.8 percent), notched an 8-for-25 clip from three-point territory (32.0 percent) and sank 17-of-24 at the foul line (70.8 percent).
The Bulldogs are 5-0 on the season and 16-4 during the Chris Jans era when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
State moved to 6-1 this season and 29-7 overall under Coach Jans when making at least 15 foul shots.
Conversely, Bethune-Cookman recorded a 26-for-52 shooting effort (50.0 percent), hit on 5-for-15 of its three-pointers (33.3 percent) and knocked down 16-24 at the charity stripe (66.7 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 27th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Converted the game's opening points on a fastbreak layup.
Recorded 16 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Notched double figures in 22 consecutive games dating back to the Ole Miss game on 02/21/2024 and for the 43rd time in 48 career games.
Sank a flawless 7-of-7 at the free throw line.
Compiled 825 points in his career, which is second in school history for freshmen and sophomores through 48 career games. He trails only Ray White (1976-77) (856 points).
Buried at least one trey in 26 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
The 26-game run is now tied for the 3rd longest in program history. He passed Barry Stewart from 2008-09 and 2009-10 during tonight's game and is now tied with Bart Hyche from the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons.
Dished out multiple assists in 11 of 13 games this season.
Impacted the ga with a team-high +19 plus-minus rating.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his third consecutive start, his 6th start this season and the 70th start of his career.
56 of his 70 starts have come over his last three seasons.
Notched 12 points, all during the second half, fueled by a trio of three-pointers.
Tacked on two assists, a rebound and a steal.
Drained multiple treys for the sixth straight game, the 10th time this season and the 69th occasion of his career.
Handed out multiple dimes for the 70th time of his career.

RJ Melendez

Made his seventh start in State's last eight games and his 34th career start over 103 career games.
Added 12 points which he achieved during the first 20 minutes.
The fourth time over the last seven outings and the sixth time this season where he's scored 10+ points.
The 34th time that Melendez has reached double figures in his career where his teams have posted a combined 23-11 record.
Provided four rebounds, three dimes, a steal and a block.
Marked his fourth time this season and 21st career outing with multiple assists.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 79 of the team's last 82 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 146th game.
Stuffed the stat sheet with four points, six boards, five assists, five steals and two blocks.
Totaled a +15 plus minus rating which gives him a cumulative +650 plus-minus rating over 82 games with Coach Jans at the helm.
Posted a positive plus/minus mark in 12 of 13 games this season and dialed up at least a +10 plus/minus rating 33 times over the last three seasons.
The five steals gives Matthews 226 for his career which continues to build on his school record which he set during the McNeese game on 12/14.
State is 7-0 over Matthews' career when he comes away with at least 5 steals.
The six rebounds give Matthews 738 for his career, which sits him at 13th place in program history.
His two blocks give him his 16th career outing with multiple rejections.
The 29th time where Matthews has secured at least five rebounds coupled with multiple assists and multiple steals during the same game.
Dished out at least five assists for the fifth time this season where the Bulldogs have won all five games and for the 17th time in his career where State has posted a cumulative 13-4 mark.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 10th straight start and his 12th career start between State and Miami.
Recorded nine points with a rebound and a rejection.
The nine points matched his fifth-best career scoring effort.
Nwoko has dialed up five of his top six scoring performances at State this season.

BENCH NOTES

State's bench outscored the Wildcats by a 34-15 margin. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponent in 10 of 13 games this season.
Riley Kugel led the bench brigade for the second consecutive game where he matched a season's best with 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Pumped in 14 of his game-leading 22 points where he was 6-of-7 from the floor during the opening half.
The 22 points for Kugel match his fifth-best scoring effort of his career.
His 10th career game reaching 20 and his 35th career game with double-digit points.
Chipped in four boards, three dimes and a steal.
Marked his fifth time this season and his 27th career outing with multiple dimes.
KeShawn Murphy tucked away eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
11 of his 19 efforts with 5+ rebounds have come this season.
Recorded multiple assists for the 7th time this season and the 16th occasion of his career.
Shawn Jones. Jr. contributed four points to go along with four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 17 State vs. Bethune-Cookman

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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