STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s basketball tipped off the 2025-26 campaign at home on Wednesday with a victory over North Alabama. It took some work to overcome a nine-point deficit after the midway point, but the Bulldogs finished the game strong with a 48-point second-half performance to win 86-62.
The Lions came to play, and matched the Bulldogs step for step in the first half. They hit 6-10 from beyond the arc in the first half to give themselves a boost from distance, and trailed by one at the half. Braylon Patton’s 11 points and Canin Jefferson’s 9 led the way, with the latter shimmying Josh Hubbard into next week before hitting a triple just before the break.
Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 13 through at the break, and while nine teammates also got on the scoresheet early, no one had more than six after one half of action, and the team shot 41% collectively from the field.
The visitors took the lead early in the second half and were up 51-42 after just a few minutes, but MSU responded with a 15-0 run with a newfound energy. Ja’borri McGhee acted as a sparkplug player, adding 8 points and a pair of assists and rebounds. He also offered plenty of speed and athleticism to save possession on a couple of occasions.
Hubbard got into a groove as well, adding to his already game-leading tally from the first half and driving the lane to good effect. He finished with 27 points, moving him into the Top 15 all-time in program scoring.
The Bulldogs took a 75-61 lead going into the final few minutes, and got some more good looks out of the rotation with Sergej Macura showing awareness around the basket with a few rebounds and layups to add to his debut.
The Slovenian nearly sent the student section into pandemonium with two dunk opportunities in the first half, only to be fouled and denied, but he managed to hit for seven points and snag eight rebounds in his collegiate debut.
MSU will be back in action on Monday, traveling to face Big 12 side Iowa State.
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