Mississippi State collects huge road win at SMU to remain undefeated

Mississippi State overcome a cold-shooting night by Josh Hubbard and used a balanced offensive attack to outlast SMU 84-79 in Dallas, Texas.

The Bulldogs trailed for the first 24 minutes of the game before finding more offensive rhythm in the second half to move to 5-0 on the season.

“It’s hard to win,” said Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans. “I told the team after the game to not take it for granted. Anybody that has been part of it understands the other team has a plan. The other team has good players and they’ve been game planning all week, too.

“I thought their physicality gave us issues early and we haven’t been challenged like that all year long. We talked about it in the huddles that we had to stick together. On the road there’s going to be problems and adversity. They did and I’m super proud of them. It will be a big win for us as the season unfolds.”

KeShawn Murphy led State with 16 points while RJ Melendez had 15 points, the most he’s scored as a Bulldog. Hubbard had 14 on just 4 of 18 shooting, including a 2 of 10 showing from 3 point range, while Riley Kugel and Claudell Harris finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Cameron Matthews also had a career-high eight assists for the Bulldogs and also had three steals, including one crucial steal in the final minute.

Kario Oquendo led SMU (4-2) with 13 points while Boopie Miller, Samet Yigitoglu and Matt Cross all had 12 points. B.J. Edwards also finished in double digits for the Mustangs with 10 points.

“We just kept going, kept going,” said Matthews. “Every game we are going into it like the Super Bowl. We’re having ultimate preparation and it was a good win. I’ve always prided myself on being pass-first and I’ve been working on being a great teammate and helping my teammates.”

Down by five at halftime, State opened the second half on a 12-6 run and took its first lead of the game on a Hubbard layup with 15:40 remaining. State would run out the lead to 58-51 but the Mustangs would not go away that easily.

Tied at 66-66, State scored six straight to take the lead for good, including a huge 3 pointer from Murphy with 4:36 left in regulation. SMU managed to cut the State lead to 76-75 with 53 seconds left but four straight points by Kugel put the game away.

For the game, Mississippi State shot 41% from the field and made 9 of 26 from 3 point territory. The Bulldogs were 19 of 25 at the charity stripe and outrebounded the Mustangs 37-33, including 16 offensive boards. State also had 20 assists and just seven turnovers.

SMU shot 51% from the floor and made 8 of 23 beyond the 3 point arc. The Mustangs had 13 turnovers and made 23 of 34 at the foul line

“Hubbard had five assists, no turnovers and he guarded,” Jans added. “But last year we don’t win this game. We’re on the road, we’re behind and he’s 4 for 18 and we probably don’t win that game last year because we probably couldn’t score enough. But 51 points in the second half. I want to play better to start the game but if I had to choose, I’d want to play better in the second half.”

State was ice cold out of the gates in the opening half and missed 10 of its first 12 shots. Meanwhile, SMU was in an offensive rhythm and built a 15-4 lead before Jans called a timeout with 14:14 left in the half.

The Mustangs would stretch the lead to 23-10 before the Bulldogs reeled off eight straight points, capped by a Hubbard 3 point. State managed to close out the half on an 11-6 run and trailed 38-33 at the halftime break.

State shot just 32% in the first half and made 3 of 13 behind the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 6 of 8 at the line in the first half and had four turnovers. SMU shot 52% from the field in the first half and made 6 of 15 from 3 point range. SMU had nine turnovers and held a 21-19 rebounding edge in the first half despite 11 offensive boards for State in the half.

Up Next

Mississippi State vs. UNLV on Thanksgiving night in the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe, Ariz., with an 8:30 p.m. tipoff. UNLV is 3-1 entering Saturday’s matchup with New Mexico State with its lone loss to Memphis (80-74).