No. 21 Mississippi State suffers disappointing loss at Georgia Tech
Mississippi State shot just 31% and were outscored 16-5 in points off turnovers as the Bulldogs dropped a 67-59 decision at Georgia Tech Tuesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Freshman Josh Hubbard led Mississippi State with 17 points while Dashawn Davis and DJ Jeffries added 12 and 10 points, respectively. It was the first loss of the season for No. 21 Mississippi State (6-1) and the first road game of the season.
Miles Kelly had a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia Tech (3-2) while Kyle Sturdivant had 12. Naithan George also finished in double digits for the Jackets with 11 points.
“We talked about the type of team we were going to play tonight,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. “They lost two in a two and I told our team could you imagine if we lost two in a row. It was rally the troops and their coaches were upset and their players were upset. What a great opportunity for them to bounce back with a Top 25 team coming in here.
“I did not do a good job the way we came out of the gates. We played different. I told them we had more effort in the second half. But at the end of the day, we put ourselves in a deep hole and they took advantage of it.”
Trailing by 13 at halftime, State got back to back 3s from Trey Fort and Davis to cut the deficit to 41-32. But the Bulldogs then went nearly five minutes without a field goal and Georgia Tech increased its lead to 58-42 late in the second half. The Bulldogs cut the Jackets’ lead to 58-50 in the closing minutes but could not get any closer.
The Bulldogs were just 7 of 30 from 3 point territory and made 12 of 16 from the line. State had 13 turnovers and were out-rebounded 45-43. Jimmy Bell led State with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Georgia Tech shot 34% from the floor and just 22% in the second half. The Jackets were 8 of 27 from 3 point range and had 12 turnovers.
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“I didn’t think we took a bunch of bad (shots),” Jans noted. “It is always that fine line with confidence. I thought the biggest deal was they got confident early and our defense was not on point. If you can’t get motivated going to an ACC school, I don’t have the answer for that. I am very disappointed with the outcome.”
Georgia Tech jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes before State managed to tie the game at 13-13. But the 3 pointer helped the Jackets increase their lead, particularly with Kelly going 3 of 4 from 3 point range in the first half. The Jackets closed the half on an 11-2 run to hold a 39-26 advantage at the half.
State shot just 31% in the first half and made just 2 of 10 beyond the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 4 of 5 at the line, had four first-half turnovers and held a 19-18 rebounding edge in the first half.
The Jackets shot 52% in the opening half, including a 6 of 13 showing from 3 point territory. Georgia Tech was 5 of 7 at the foul line and had three turnovers in the first half.
“We had to learn a valuable lesson,” Jans added. “I was hoping we could stay away from learning a valuable lesson but we had it. We had a couple of guys that were not themselves. I should have sat a couple of guys down but I didn’t and I let it fester. That is my fault and I saw it. I am disappointed in myself to let it go like that.”
Mississippi State gets a break from the schedule over the next few days. The Bulldogs return to action Sunday with a 3 p.m. tipoff against Southern University at Humphrey Coliseum.
