STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s basketball coach Chris Jans knows he can remain a bit stoic when his team is on the floor.
“I don’t smile as often in the games as I probably should or need to,” Jans said.
But a few key moments in Saturday’s game against TCU at Humphrey Coliseum got the first-year Bulldogs coach grinning.
By the time Jans spoke to media after MSU’s 81-74 overtime win over the Horned Frogs (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) he could hardly stop.
“Wasn’t that fun?” Jans said. “When the ball splashes through that net?”
It wasn’t a sight Mississippi State had seen a lot recently, but it was a welcome one for a Bulldogs team sorely in need.
MSU (13-8, 1-7 SEC) snapped a five-game win streak, garnered their first win over a ranked team under Jans and most importantly showed what can happen when a dangerous defensive team can make its shots as well.
“We’re looking to make a full 180 on our season,” guard Shakeel Moore said. “When we continue to stick together and continue to fight together, things can happen, as you’ve seen tonight.”
Moore helped make things happen for the Bulldogs after 40 minutes of regulation play failed to produce a winner. Mississippi State and TCU battled throughout the second half with no team leading by more than six points at any time.
MSU led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but the Horned Frogs scored five straight points in the final minute to make it a six-point game at the break.
TCU even held a one-point lead with less than a minute to go in the second half, but a well-executed baseline out of bounds play set up a 3-pointer by Mississippi State’s Dashawn Davis.
“Coach called a good one, and I knew Rams was going to knock it down,” Moore said.
Seeing the shot go down perhaps spurred Moore to score the Bulldogs’ first six points of overtime, hitting 3s from the right wing and then the left. MSU blocked three shots — two by Tolu Smith — to clamp down the Horned Frogs from there.
Smith was Mississippi State’s unquestioned MVP, leading the way with 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting. He added 13 rebounds and five assists, not to mention four blocks and a steal.
Jans said the Bulldogs kept looking for Smith on offense — sometimes a little too much.
“They knew he was cooking,” Jans said. “He was so efficient. The thing that sticks out the most was his efficiency. If you look at his line across the board in every category, he just played at a high level.”
Smith took advantage of the absence of TCU leading rebounder Eddie Lampkin Jr., who did not play Saturday because of injury. Leading scorer Mike Miles Jr. also went down early in the game with a hyperextended knee.
Damion Baugh led TCU with 19 points, Emanuel Miller had 13, and Shahada Wells and JaKobe Coles had 12 each.
Davis added 16 points for Mississippi State, and Moore had 11. Cameron Matthews and Tyler Stevenson scored 10 apiece, including a three-point play for Stevenson in front of a roaring student section that allowed Jans to flash a rare grin.
The play put MSU up three, but TCU scored the next six points. With 4:32 to go, a banked-in 3-pointer from Baugh put the Frogs up by four.
Just three days after falling by only three points at No. 2 Alabama, Mississippi State appeared headed for another close loss.
“We were in that situation before recently in ’Bama, and we knew we didn’t want that feeling again,” Smith said.
So they avoided it.
Davis answered with a 3 on a cross-court feed from Smith, and the Bulldogs stayed afloat until Davis’ go-ahead shot with 55 seconds left.
Miller answered for TCU, and Davis’ pull-up 3 for the win was offline in the closing seconds.
Wells raced to the basket for a layup off the overtime tip, exposing poor defense Jans regretted postgame, but from there, it was all Mississippi State.
Moore hit two 3s, Davis hit a jumper, and the Bulldogs sank five straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to pad their lead.
“I’m glad the ball went through the hole for both those guys,” Jans said.
It could spark confidence for an MSU team badly in need of it on the offensive end. Just 1-7 in conference play, the Bulldogs visit struggling South Carolina at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Jans said he expects his team to have “a little bounce in their step” after Saturday’s win, and who knows?
He might even be smiling.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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