Balanced attack leads Mississippi State to 101-66 romp of Georgia State

Entering Friday’s home matchup with Georgia State, head coach Chris Jans expected his squad to be challenged a bit more than they were in Monday’s season opener. However, Mississippi State’s offense was still in high gear and the Bulldogs had little trouble and blew out Georgia State, 101-66, at Humphrey Coliseum.

Even more impressive was the balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs, who improved to 2-0. State had nine players that scored seven points or more on Friday and had 26 team assists.

Josh Hubbard led the way for State with 15 points and six assists while former Florida transfer Riley Kugel had 14. Kanye Clary had 11 points and six assists while RJ Melendez and Claudell Harris each added 10 points.

“When everybody is touching the ball, getting good looks and everybody is contributing to a good team win, it’s always best,” noted Kugel, who was 6 of 10 from the floor. “It was just fun, fun to be a part of tonight.

“I did have confidence and I think it’s because I came out earlier than usual for my warmup routine. My shot felt good throughout the whole day and I was feeling pretty confident.”

As a team, State shot 58% from the field and made 10 of 28 from 3 point range. The Bulldogs were 7 of 10 at the line and had 10 turnovers along with 26 assists. State also edged Georgia State on the boards, 38-37, and had 15 steals. In the first two games of the season, State’s defense has combined for 32 steals.

Also for State, Cameron Matthews added nine points while KeShawn Murphy and Michael Nwoko each had eight.

“I think it just shows how good we are and how much talent we have,” Clary mentioned. “Honestly, everybody has been good. We’re all happy and celebrating each other’s success. That is what we try to do each and every night.”

Throughout the offseason and with so many new transfers, Jans noted of the importance of finding the right team chemistry and having unselfish players. So far, he likes the early returns in that department.

“We’ve been impressed with them since they arrived,” Jans said. “As we got going and got into more 5 on 5 this summer leading into the fall, behind closed doors and just coaches talking about they were unselfish. We didn’t have to even preach it that much. For whatever reason, it’s been an undercurrent for this group and certainly every coach in America loves it when they see that.”

Toneari Lane led Georgia State (1-1) with 15 points while Cesare Edwards had 13. Zarique Nutter and Nick McMullen also finished in double digits for the Panthers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

For the game, the Panthers were held to 34% shooting and Georgia State made 5 of 18 behind the 3 point arc. The Panthers were 17 of 25 at the foul line and had 17 turnovers.

Leading by 22 points at halftime, State used a 9-0 run early in the second half to begin the route. State led by as many as 43 points in the second half and improved to 5-0 all-time against Georgia State.

However, early in the second half Jans was not pleased with the energy from his players. So he subbed out all five starters and brought in a whole new group, who quickly picked up the pace.

“That was a horrific start and obviously disappointed with that group that was on the floor to start the second half,” Jans recalled. “I understand it, big lead at home and you can take your foot off the gas. But you can develop bad habits that way and every coach in America wants to guard against it.

“But they turned the tide and actually righted the ship with five new guys on the floor. They got the score back where it was and we stuck with that group for awhile. They did a nice job.”

With that starting lineup, it looked quite different from the opening game on Monday, which Jans said this week he wanted to tinker with the starting lineups. Hubbard and Murphy are the only two Bulldogs to start in both games and on Friday, it was Harris, Melendez and Nwoko getting their first start of the season.

Noticeably absent from the starting lineup was Matthews, who had been a main fixture in the starting five the past two seasons.

“We didn’t have a conversation about it,” remarked Jans. “They come down about 11 minutes before the game and that’s when they find out who’s starting. But (Matthews) handled it like a pro. He handled it like a man and wasn’t phased by it. He came out of the gate and played really well.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-4 start in the opening minutes and used that balanced offensive attack for most of the first half. Georgia State managed to cut the deficit to 17-13 midway through the opening half but that was as close as the Panthers would get.

State steadily expanded the lead and took a 47-23 advantage following a Claudell Harris 3 pointer in the closing minute of the half. The Bulldogs eventually went into the halftime break with a 47-25 lead.

In the opening half, State shot a blistering 62% from the field and made 4 of 12 beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were 1 of 2 at the foul line and out-rebounded Georgia State 20-19. The Bulldogs had nine assists and four turnovers in the first half.

Georgia State shot just 31% from the floor in the half and made 2 of 10 from 3 point territory. The Panthers were 1 of 2 at the charity stripe and had six turnovers.

Up Next

Tuesday – Mississippi State vs. SE Louisiana at Humphrey Coliseum, 6:30 p.m. tipoff. SE Louisiana opened the season last Monday with a 91-53 win over NAIA foe William Carey. The Li0ns are set to face UAB on Sunday before traveling to State on Tuesday.