Mississippi State
20-12,8-10SEC
LSU
17-15,9-9SEC
Second-Half Rally Propels State Over LSU In SEC Tourney
March 14, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Dawgs advance with 70-60 victory.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mississippi State used a resurgent second half to propel itself to a 70-60 victory over LSU on Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. After trailing 29-22 at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 48-31 over the final 20 minutes of action to advance to Friday's quarterfinal round at Bridgestone Arena.
"We were struggling [in the first half]," MSU head coach Chris Jans said. "We had seven baskets [and] seven turnovers. That's not a good recipe to win games.
"I think the response [after halftime] had everyone that was rooting for the Maroon and White feel much better…We kind of took a deep breath and said, 'Let's play.' Then we settled in."
Josh Hubbard scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the contest's final period to fuel the MSU comeback. The sensational freshman hit five of his 10 second-half shots, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final five minutes to extend his team's lead. Hubbard's 24 points now stands as the most-ever by a Bulldog freshman in an SEC Tournament game.
Dashawn Davis contributed with 12 points for State. Both D.J. Jeffries and Tolu Smith III just missed out on double-doubles for the Dawgs as each scored eight points with Smith collecting 13 rebounds and Jeffries bringing down 11.
A 14-2 run midway through the second half proved to be the turning point of Thursday's contest. MSU trailed 34-28 with just under 15 minutes to play when a Jeffries dunk served as an igniting spark for State.
Hubbard then nailed a jumper to pull the Bulldogs within two before Smith jammed one home to knot the game at 34-all with 13:30 left on the clock. Smith then put MSU in front with a pair of free throws, and after a basket from LSU's Trae Hannibal retied things, State scored six more unanswered and led the rest of the way.
Hannibal paced the Tigers with an 18-point effort. Hunter Dean added 10 for LSU.
Dean scored seven in the first half and was key in putting State in a hole. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as nine points early on before trimming the deficit to seven by halftime. Soon after, State found its bearings and was on the way to the win.
"We just stayed positive and kept rooting for each other," Hubbard explained. "We didn't stick our heads down. We lifted each other up. We just knew we had 20 minutes to change things, so that's what we did."
Thursday's comeback stands tied for the second-largest halftime deficit MSU has ever overcome in the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs also came back from seven down against Alabama in the 2008 event. The largest-ever second-half rally MSU has pulled off in the SEC Tourney came in 1994 when, facing Tennessee, the Dawgs erased an eight-point deficit.
MSU will continue its run in The Music City on Friday. The Bulldogs will face top-seeded Tennessee at noon CT. The game will be televised by ESPN.
