STARKVILLE — Iverson Molinar was more than willing to make something out of nothing.
The Mississippi State junior point guard seized a loose ball on the left wing during the second half of Wednesday’s game at Georgia and got straight to work. He cut toward the center of the key, drew contact from the visiting Bulldogs’ Jaxon Etter and tossed in a runner as the whistle blew.
The and-one basket — part of a career-best night for Molinar — helped MSU gain much-needed separation after Georgia cut the hosts’ lead to just three points. The red and black Bulldogs never got close again.
Molinar made sure of that.
The junior scored a career-high 28 points, 17 of them in the second half, as Mississippi State (11-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) handled Georgia (5-11, 0-3 SEC) by a score of 88-72 on Wednesday.
“I think it’s a confidence builder for him to have such an outstanding game tonight,” coach Ben Howland said of Molinar.
MSU trailed the conference’s worst team by a point at halftime but looked far better after the break, outscoring Georgia 53-36 in the second half en route to a comfortable victory in Starkville.
The Bulldogs went on runs of 8-0 and 9-0 after halftime before Molinar scored six points in a row to put things away down the stretch. The Panama native finished 11 of 18 from the field, including five made layups, to help MSU to victory.
Molinar surpassed his previous career high of 26 points, set Dec. 5 in a loss to Minnesota. He also dished out seven assists, blocked a shot and collected two steals.
“I feel like I brought it at both ends of the floor — the offensive end and the defensive end,” Molinar said.
Three other Bulldogs finished in double figures — and perhaps not the expected ones. Big man Javian Davis scored 12 points off the bench, while reserve winger Andersson García and defense-minded forward Cameron Matthews had 10 points apiece.
Molinar said he was happy to learn García had gotten into double figures for the first time as a Bulldog, citing his and Davis’ performances Wednesday.
“They worked so hard in the offseason, especially JD and Andy,” Molinar said. “You can see the improvement they made from last year.”
The trio helped carry the load as the Bulldogs played their second straight game minus forward Tolu Smith, who has played just five times all season.
Howland alluded to Smith’s presence in COVID-19 protocols during a media session Tuesday and said he hoped Smith would be available Saturday against Alabama. Whether Smith will be at full strength, though, is up in the air.
“It’s going to take Tolu some time when he returns to action to get back up to full conditioning,” Howland said.
For roughly 20 minutes Wednesday, Mississippi State seemed incapable of beating last-place Georgia — let alone the top-25 Crimson Tide — without Smith. The two pairs of Bulldogs battled throughout a first half featuring nine lead changes. Neither team led by more than four points, and Georgia took a one-point lead into the break.
But Mississippi State got together in the locker room and made a declaration, according to Molinar: “We’re better than this.”
The point guard Bulldogs prove it.
He opened the second half with a layup, and after a response by Georgia’s Kario Oquendo — who matched Molinar’s 28-point total — D.J. Jeffries hit a 3 to put the Bulldogs ahead. Garrison Brooks’ layup moments later gave MSU the lead for good.
Howland said the Bulldogs’ energy throughout the game helped wear Georgia down despite the tightly contested first half. Mississippi State clearly lacked it on Saturday in Oxford as the rival Rebels claimed an 82-72 win.
“All I want is the effort for 40 minutes,” Howland said.
On Wednesday, he got it. And the Bulldogs moved to 2-1 in conference play and set the stage for a big game at 5 p.m. Saturday against the Crimson Tide (11-5, 2-2 SEC) in Starkville.
All thanks to their star guard and his career performance.
“It was a tough one at Ole Miss, and we needed this,” Molinar said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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