A return to Bulldog Basketball, Mississippi State knocks off No. 7 Texas A&M, 70-54

At halftime on Tuesday against Top 10 foe Texas A&M, Mississippi State saw a familiar scene play out. Once again, the Bulldogs were right there involved in a highly-competitive game against one of the top teams in the country.

But what changed this time around was State’s increased intensity on the defensive end. And that brought about a different result in the end.

Josh Hubbard had a game-high 25 points and Claudell Harris added 15 off the bench to lead No. 21 Mississippi State to a 70-54 victory over No. 7 Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs used a 14-3 run early in the second half to grab control en route to their first Top 10 win of the season.

RJ Melendez added 10 points for the Bulldogs, who improved to 19-7 overall and 7-6 in the SEC.

Zhuric Phelps had 13 points to lead Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4). Wade Taylor IV and C.J. Wilcher each had 11 points with Wilcher scoring all of his points in the first half.

“The guys don’t listen to me often but it was the last thing we talked about before we went out (to start the second half),” Jans recalled. “I said I don’t won’t anyone in the locker room talking about what we should have did. I want you to leave everything you got on the court.

“We’ve been in these situations and we got to come out of this gate and play hard because they’re (Texas A&M) is going to. I didn’t want our locker room to be like that where we are talking about what we should have done. They just had a great intensity and it started on the defensive end.”

Trailing by one at halftime, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a 14-3 run to gain the lead for good. The Aggies used a quick 6-0 spurt midway through the half to cut the deficit to 46-42. However, the Bulldogs used a 14-4 run to put the game away.

“Starting the second half we knew we had to come out with more intensity than we did in the first half,” said Cameron Matthews, who had five points, six rebounds and six steals. “We’ve been having trouble coming out in the second halves in slumps, coming out a little flat. So we made it an emphasis to really get into the ball and apply a lot of pressure on the other team, just make it hard for them.

“I feel like that’s how we’ve been playing in the past with the first two years with Jans. That’s Bulldog Basketball. I feel like that’s what we’ve been lacking these past few games. We got back used to what we were doing.”

Mississippi State shot 43% for the game while holding the Aggies to just 36% shooting. The Bulldogs were 17 of 20 at the foul line and made 9 of 25 from 3 point territory. The Aggies were 8 of 23 beyond the 3 point arc and had 19 turnovers while outrebounding the Bulldogs, 38-31.

Once again, the Bulldogs brought Harris off the bench for the second straight game and he provided another scoring spark. The senior guard scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and was key in helping the Bulldogs create separation down the stretch.

“I’m a team guy and I’m just trying to win,” said Harris, who was 4 of 8 beyond the arc. “So however we try to win, I am willing to do it. You just got to make the most of every opportunity you get to help your team win.”

Mississippi State jumped out to a 13-6 lead following a trio of free throws from RJ Melendez with 13 minutes left in the half. But Wilcher started to heat up for Texas A&M and he scored eight points to fuel a 13-2 Aggie run for a 27-22 lead. The Aggies eventually entered halftime with a 31-30 advantage.

Texas A&M shot 43% in the opening half and made 4 of 12 beyond the 3 point arc. The Aggies were 3 of 5 at the foul line and had five turnovers. Mississippi State shot 40% in the first half and made just 2 of 11 from 3 point range. The Bulldogs were 8 of 8 at the foul line, had seven turnovers and outrebounded the Aggies 17-15 in the first half.

For the second straight game, the Bulldogs stepped up on the defensive end. The confidence gained from last weekend’s road win at Ole Miss carried over to Tuesday and got State back to playing “Bulldog Basketball” again.

“When we were in the locker room celebrating, I heard Shawn Jones say it two or three times,” added Jans. “That’s Bulldog Basketball. When I got a chance when it quieted down, I told Shawn to tell them what you said and I said that’s right. That’s who we are and that needs to be part of our D.N.A. It’s been a part sometimes but not on a consistent basis for us.

“Hopefully, now that we’ve had success and they see how it can work for this particular team, we will have a complete buy-in.”

Up next

Mississippi State at Oklahoma on Saturday with a noon tip-off on the SEC Network – The Bulldogs return to the road and face Oklahoma in the first-ever SEC meeting between the two schools.