3 point shooting leads State to season-opening 95-60 victory over West Georgia

Throughout the offseason Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans talked often about his added firepower in the backcourt. In Monday’s season opener, some of that was on full display.

Josh Hubbard had a game-high 26 points and new Bulldog guard Claudell Harris added 20 as State rolled past West Georgia 95-60 at Humphrey Coliseum. Harris, a former Boston College transfer, and Hubbard combined to make 12 of 17 attempts from 3 point territory.

Hubbard was 10 of 13 from the floor and made 6 of 7 from 3 point range. As a team, State shot 55% from the field and made 14 of 30 behind the 3 point arc, the most made 3 pointers in the Jans Era at State. The Bulldogs were 9 of 16 at the foul line and had just eight turnovers. State had 19 assists, 17 steals and outscored the Wolves 31-10 in points off turnovers.

“It was a great experience,” recalled Harris, who was 7 of 11 from the floor. “The fans came out and supported, great student section. They really set the tone for us and gave us a confidence boost. That’s why I was able to come off the bench and trust my work.”

State junior KeShawn Murphy also had a solid showing with six points, a team-high seven boards, four assists and two blocked shots. For Murphy, it was the first start of his college career after playing in a combined 40 games the past two seasons.

“It’s new,” remarked Murphy about starting at center. “It’s nothing I can’t adjust to and I’ll be there for my team. Wherever my team needs me, I’m there.

“But we still got a long way to go and we’re just getting started. We’re trying to figure out how we play as a team. I’m just excited to be here. It’s different from the previous years from what I’ve seen. We just got to adjust.”

Tamau Releford led West Georgia with 16 points while Kolten Griffin added 13 for the Wolves, who were playing in its first-ever Division 1 basketball game. West Georgia shot 39% from the field, made 4 of 19 from 3 point territory and 14 of 20 at the charity stripe. The Wolves have 20 turnovers and held the rebounding edge at 35-34.

The Bulldogs led 40-29 at the half and used a 19-7 run to open the second half, coasting the rest of the way.

Naturally, Jans wasn’t pleased with the rebounding efforts from his club. Those efforts did get better in the second half, however, as State out-rebounded the Wolves 20-14 in the final 20 minutes.

“That was a big topic of conversation at halftime as you can imagine,” noted Jans of the rebounding. “Been harping on rebounding, especially the last two weeks heading into the game-portion of the schedule. We’re different and I’ve been telling everybody we’re different. We don’t have as much physicality or girth. Those guys playing here the last two years are not walking through the door.

“We’re gonna have to rebound by committee and everyone is going to have to help. Everybody’s got to be involved, checking down by the guards and just checking down someone. We got a little bit better in the second half but I don’t know if it could’ve gotten much worse. It was a big topic of conversation after the game and we’ve got to figure it out. It will be addressed as we get back to the floor.”

Mississippi State exploded from the start and raced to a 24-9 advantage thanks to eight points from Hubbard. However, the visiting Wolves reeled off 12 straight points and cut the State lead to 24-21 with 4:59 left in the half.

Harris started to heat in the closing moments of the half and hit two 3 pointers in the final minute, helping State build a 40-29 halftime advantage.

State shot 50% in the first half and made 8 of 15 behind the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs had five turnovers in the first half and missed their lone two free throw attempts. West Georgia shot 40% in the opening half and made 2 of 8 from 3 point territory. The Wolves were 3 of 5 at the foul line and had 10 first-half turnovers while out-rebounding State 21-14.

For the game, State forced 20 turnovers and had 17 steals, including three each by Kanye Clary and Dellquan Warren. And being defensive-minded on the perimeter will be a crucial area this season, noted Jans.

“We’re gonna have to be (good), defensively,” Jans added. “We don’t have a ton of rim protection and not a ton of just girth, wide bodies around the basket. So we have to be so good out front with our tenacity, our positioning, our hands, to overcome the lack of size and overcome, at least right now, our defensive rebounding. Turnovers have to be a big part of what we try to do, defensively.”

Up Next

Mississippi State vs. Georgia State at Humphrey Coliseum, 6:30 p.m. tipoff. Georgia State opened its season on Monday with a 71-66 win over Ball State.