Mississippi State
15-8,4-6SEC
Georgia
14-9,4-6SEC
State Notches Home Win Over Georgia
February 07, 2024 | Men's Basketball
MSU takes a 75-62 victory in a battle of Bulldogs.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State earned a gritty victory on its home court as it took down Georgia by a score of 75-62 on Wednesday night.
The homestanding Bulldogs got back on track in Southeastern Conference action by pulling ahead in the first three minutes and never trailing from that point forward. Each player who touched the court made significant contributions en route to the win.
"Our first 10 [to] 12 minutes of defense was as good as any 10 [to] 12 that I can remember in a while," head coach Chris Jans said. "I thought we were locked in, and they were fighting, scratching and clawing."
The game remained close through the opening minutes of action, but State was able to build on its lead late in the first half with a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Josh Hubbard and an electric dunk by Shawn Jones Jr.
Hubbard added 11 total points in the frame. Shakeel Moore and Tolu Smith III also had strong starts to the contest with eight and six points, respectively over the first 20 minutes of action. MSU scored 12 of its 36 first-half points in the paint on an array of tough shots.
Defensively, State forced Georgia to shoot just 31 percent from the floor in the first half and snagged 25 total rebounds to the visiting squad's 16. MSU had two blocks each from Jones and Cameron Matthews and forced seven turnovers prior to halftime.
Mississippi State found itself locked in an intense battle coming out of the locker room but never surrendered. Matthews netted five of MSU's first seven points in the second half, and the team made five shots from beyond the arc in the back half of the game.
UGA cut the lead to three with six minutes remaining in the contest, but a pair of clutch three-pointers by Jones and Hubbard gave the momentum back to State. The home team held on late with some crucial free throws in the final two minutes from Jones, Smith and Dashawn Davis. As a whole, MSU shot 16-of-19 from the charity stripe on the night.
Four student-athletes sporting the Maroon and White scored in double figures, and the team shot 42-percent from the floor. Matthews explained how the strong offensive performances helped the team succeed.
"Having even and balanced scoring makes it easier for everybody else to get involved," Matthews said.
Smith finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, marking the fourth time this season that the starting center has recorded a double-double. Freshman Hubbard scored 14 points to back him up, and guard Shakeel Moore contributed 11.
KeShawn Murphy added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench in his first game back since early January. Jans emphasized how big the redshirt sophomore's performance was.
"KeShawn obviously gave us a big boost on the offensive end," Jans said. "He made four of our baskets. Obviously, he's very talented."
Matthews did a bit of everything with nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Jones finished with seven points and five rebounds, and Davis recorded a season-high eight assists to go along with his five points.
The team ended with just 10 turnovers and had 19 assists to Georgia's six.
Up next, Mississippi State will attempt to build on Wednesday's triumph. The Bulldogs travel to Missouri to face off with the Tigers this weekend. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, February 10. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
