Mississippi State men’s basketball ended it’s five-game losing streak in SEC play on Wednesday, taking down LSU with a prolific performance on the road in Baton Rouge. The Bulldogs, now 11-10 on the season and 3-5 in conference play, registered a vital 80-66 Quad 1 win against the Tigers.
The Bulldogs exploded with a 44-21 first-half performance, hitting 7-14 from three-point range to build a big lead before halftime against their hosts. The offensive production was nearly universal with only one of nine players failing to hit a shot in the first half.
Quincy Ballard was the leading scorer at the break, going a perfect 4-4 shooting, and the four bench players combined for 13 in the first half as well. Freshman King Grace helped add to the pile on with a pair of triples in just five minutes on the floor.
It was another excellent performance off the bench from Grace, who added another bucket with a pair of boards and a chasedown block in the second half. The block against the glass on a layup attempt was the sort of high-effort play that warranted a name like “King,” not to mention the no. 23 jersey, but certainly the kind of play that coaches would want to see in a freshman.
Defensively, the Bulldogs had a strong half, but poor shooting by LSU contributed to the lopsided scoring. The Tigers hit just 1-10 three-point attempts and shot 9-28 from the floor in the opening half.
The second half was a different story, with the LSU offense coming to life and hitting MSU for 45 points, but the Bulldogs managed to keep pace to stay out in front. They outrebounded the Tigers 43-24 over the course of the game and got 27 points from the bench to boost a strong night on the road.
Hubbard had another below-par night shooting the basketball, finishing 4-12, but led the team with 15 points on the night. Ballard, Ja’Borri McGhee and Sergej Macura joined him in double digits to round out a good night of shooting, with the team shooting 50% from the floor.
MSU will look to carry the momentum into Saturday, when the Bulldogs travel to Columbia for a game against Mizzou. They’ll tipoff against the Tigers at 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
