No. 25 Mississippi State survives rock fight with McNeese State, 66-63

In Chris Jans’ first two seasons at Mississippi State, it was common for the Bulldogs to win ugly or win those so-called ‘rock fights’. On Saturday in Tupelo, Mississippi State had its first ‘rock fight’ of the season and survived in the end.

RJ Melendez had a season-high 18 points and Josh Hubbard added 16 to lead No. 25 Mississippi State to a 66-63 win over McNeese State in a neutral-site game.

“You must have been in our locker room because that’s what I talked about with them,” Jans noted. “I said I am accustomed to this. Not just here but everywhere (I’ve coached) where it became a rock fight. We haven’t talked about rock fights or making it an ally fight where a lot of games we played in the past ended up being that way. We tried to make them that way (in the past), to be honest with you.

“But they brought the rock fight to us. They mucked the game up. They switched the defenses up and they played really, really hard. We knew they were going to do that but seeing it in person is a whole other matter.”

Melendez made two free throws with nine seconds remaining in regulation to give Mississippi State (9-1) a 66-61 lead. The Bulldogs trailed 58-55 with 5:29 left in the second half but used a 7-0 run to grab the lead for good.

Claudell Harris and Cameron Matthews each had nine points for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs outscored McNeese State 20-5 in points off turnovers.

“I would just say it’s great, honestly,” said Melendez, who was 6 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line. “Being able to come back and stick together as a team. Having everyone’s back and just trusting Coach’s plan and being able to execute. Great team win.”

Matthews also set a school record on Saturday after adding two more steals to his resume. For his career, Matthews now owns 218 career steals, the most in school history. And it was his defensive play and key rebounds down the stretch that also aided in the win.

“Especially with this team, I feel like when we get a few stops and we get the crowd behind us, I feel like we get super powers,” Matthews said. “We just start to clamp down on them and they start missing.”

Joe Parker led McNeese State (5-5) with 19 points while Sincere Parker finished with 16. Javohn Garcia and Brandon Murray each added 10 points for the Cowboys.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. McNeese State, however, found more success and took a 24-16 lead after a Charles 3 pointer with 3:42 left in the half. But thanks to a pair of 3 pointers each from Hubbard and Harris, the Bulldogs closed the half on a 13-5 run and it was tied at 29-29 at halftime.

For the game, State shot just 37% and made just 5 of 18 beyond the arc, including an 0 of 6 showing in the second half. State was 23 of 33 at the foul line and got out-rebounded 37-33. The Bulldogs only had eight turnovers while forcing 15 miscues for McNeese State, who shot 42% for the game.

“I’m glad we won,” Jans said afterwards. “It was a hard-fought game. Proud of our guys to stay connected when it wasn’t looking good. The momentum was in their favor. They did a heck of a job in preparation for this game. They put their guys in position to take advantage of some things that we do, defensively. There was probably more adjustments made in the second half of this game than two or three games combined.”

Mississippi State shot just 30% in the opening half and made 5 of 12 beyond the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 6 of 11 at the foul line and had five first-half turnovers. Mississippi State also held a slim 22-21 rebounding advantage in the first half. McNeese State shot 40% in the first half and made 4 of 9 from 3 point range. The Cowboys were 5 of 10 at the foul line and had seven turnovers.

Up next

Mississippi State vs. Central Michigan (5-4) in Jackson on Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.