Postgame Notes: No. 14 State vs. No. 6 Kentucky

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State nearly overcame a double-digit deficit for the third time this season before No. 6 Kentucky came away with a 95-90 decision over No. 14 Mississippi State on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Tonight marked the third matchup between Associated Press Top 15 teams at Humphrey Coliseum. It also was the ninth time that a ranked vs. ranked matchup has taken place in Starkville. State dropped to 4-5 and 1-2, respectively.
The Bulldogs moved to 14-2 overall and 2-1 in SEC action. The 14-2 mark is the program's best start through 16 games since 2004-05.
State fell to 6-2 versus NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents this season.
After going down 68-54 at the 15:16 mark in the second half, the Bulldogs sparked a 12-0 run to cut the lead to two with 12:19 left in regulation.
State would eventually regain an 80-78 lead with 8:17 remaining on a Claudell Harris Jr. three from the left baseline.
Kentucky would answer with eight straight points of their own to solidify the lead for the remainder of the contest.
The Josh Hubbard-Claudell Harris Jr.-RJ Melendez-Cameron Matthews and Michael Nwoko combination started its sixth consecutive game and moved to 6-1 on the season.
State is 13-2 this season and 39-9 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when scoring 70 or more points.
State is 12-1 this season and 49-14 over the last three seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 40.0 percent or higher.
State fired in 17 of its 32 field goals on the interior en route to a 34-28 edge in paint points.
The Bulldogs converted 20 of the game's 27 points off turnovers. The Maroon and White also edged out Kentucky by a 16-13 margin in fastbreak points.
State claimed a 16-15 in points on second-chance opportunities.
The Bulldogs have committed just 150 turnovers which shatters the program's lowest total through 16 games.
State tallied nine steals to bring its season total to 161 which ties for third place in program history through 16 games.
The Maroon and White is averaging 83.9 points per game, which holds a program record through 16 games.
As a team, State connected on 32-of-71 from the field (45.1 percent), notched a 12-for-40 clip from three-point territory (30.0 percent) and sank 14-of-18 at the foul line (77.8 percent).
Conversely, Kentucky recorded a 34-for-61 shooting effort (55.7 percent), went 16-for-32 on three-pointers (50.0 percent) and knocked down 11-19 at the charity stripe (57.9 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 30th consecutive game over the last two seasons.
Recorded 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Buried multiple trifectas in 14 of 16 games this season, and in 43 out of 51 career games.
Recorded double figures in 24 of the last 25 games.
Compiled 870 points in his career, which is second in school history for freshmen and sophomores through 51 career games. He trails only White (1976-77 – 881 points).
Distributed multiple assists in 14 of 16 games this season.
Buried at least one trey in 29 straight games dating back to the Georgia game on 02/07/2024.
The 29-game run is the 3rd longest in program history. He tied Dee Bost's streak from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with tonight's result.

Claudell Harris Jr.

Made his sixth consecutive start, his 9th start this season and the 73rd start of his career.
59 of his 73 starts have come over his last three seasons.
Notched 13 points, grabbed two rebounds and added a steal.
Marked his 10th game of 2024-25 and 81st career game with 10+ points.
State is 9-1 this season when Harris Jr. reaches double figures.
Drained multiple treys for the ninth straight game, the 13th time this season and the 72nd occasion of his career.

RJ Melendez

Made his 10th start in State's last 11 games and his 37th career start over 106 career games.
Opened the game's scoring with a mid-range jumper.
Recorded 14 points to go along with four boards.
Notched his 36th career game in double figures.
His teams are a combined 24-12 when Melendez scores 10+ points.

Cameron Matthews

Started in 82 of the team's last 85 games over the last three seasons under Coach Jans.
Competed in his school-record 149th game.
Poured in 10 first-half points before ultimately stuffing the stat sheet with a team-high and tying a career-high 19 points, a team-high 10 boards, a season-high six steals and three dimes.
His 31st career game in double figures and his 18th outing with 10 rebounds.
State is 22-9 when Matthews provides 10+ points over his career.
Tonight moves his total to a cumulative +687 plus-minus mark over 85 games with Coach Jans at the helm.
His six steals gave Matthews 236 for his career as he continues to build on his school record which he set during the McNeese game on 12/14.
Dished out multiple assists in 13 of 16 games this season
Led State in rebounding for the 33rd time in his career.

Michael Nwoko

Made his 13th straight start and his 15th career start between State and Miami over the last two seasons.
Recorded 10 points in addition to five boards, two blocks and an assist.
The 10 points is a new career-best for Nwoko during a conference game.
Eight of his top 10 scoring efforts have already come this season.
Marked his ninth game tallying at least five rebounds in a State uniform.
Impacted the team with a +8 plus-minus rating.

BENCH NOTES

KeShawn Murphy tucked away eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Recorded multiple assists for the 10th time this season and the 19th occasion of his career.
Shawn Jones Jr. added three points coupled with five assists, three boards, three blocks and two steals.
His first career game with five dimes.
Had multiple steals for the 12th time in his career and multiple rejections in his sixth career outing.
Riley Kugel tallied eight points and two three-pointers in eight minutes before he exited the game with an injury.
Notched his 27th career game knocking down multiple triples.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: No. 14 State vs. No. 6 Kentucky

Players Mentioned

Cameron Matthews

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