STARKVILLE – Against South Carolina on Saturday in Columbia, Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard didn’t carry over his hot shooting from Wednesday’s win over Auburn. But Jayden Epps did.
The senior guard contributed a crucial 13 points in the second half against the Tigers, and had already eclipsed that tally in the first half against South Carolina when he drove the lane in search of more. He drew contact as he put up a shot and came down awkwardly on his left leg. He immediately collapsed in pain as teammates and onlookers feared the worst.
“In real time, it was, for that particular game, a pretty big gut punch. I mean, he was playing well, he had 13 at half,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said. “Certainly him being OK is paramount, but in terms of the game unfolding, not having him available in the second half, that was a tough hit because of his role in our team, and more specifically, he was in a really good place in that particular game when Josh had struggled in the first half. He had picked up the slack and we were within striking distance going into halftime. That was tough that way, but we’ve all been through it, as a coach and as a player. Injuries are part of the game. You’ve got to figure it out.”
The Bulldogs (13-14, 5-9 SEC) were able to figure it out offensively. Hubbard scored 11 more even as his shooting struggled, going 3-12 from the floor in the second half, while Quincy Ballard and Achor Achor added efficient buckets in the paint. The team finished with 89 points, their third-most points in regulation in SEC play this season.
And it still wasn’t enough.
South Carolina posted its best offensive performance of the season, winning 97-89 with four players in double digits and a collective hit rate of 55.4% from the floor. Mike Sharavjamts scored 21 to lead the team, with his teammates chipping in 11 makes from beyond the arc.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like we had the same attention to detail. I didn’t feel like our defense had the same pop,” Jans said. “Now, you’ve got to give South Carolina credit. They had some guys make some shots that they hadn’t been making. Some of them, we were OK with early in the game of guys shooting the ball, because you got to play the numbers at times. You can’t guard everybody the same. So, we put them in that position, but I didn’t feel like we lost that game because of our offense. We lost that game because of our defense.”
After an emotional week of wins over Ole Miss and Auburn, and a historic 46-point performance by Hubbard against the Tigers, it might have been unreasonable to expect even more fireworks, but the defensive drop-off was too dramatic for the Bulldogs, especially on the road.
“Our offense was good enough, even on a day where Josh didn’t play great for his standard,” Jans said. “The most disappointing thing was after having two pretty good defensive games, especially in the first half of those games, we didn’t have the same bite. That’s probably the most disappointing take from the weekend because we had thought maybe, ‘Hey, they’ve got this figured out.’ They understand that it has to be something that we do every single outing. Obviously, it wasn’t on Saturday.”
Next man up
Four games remain for MSU in the regular season, starting with a trip to Tuscaloosa today.
No. 17 Alabama won comfortably in Starkville last month
Jans gave an update on Epps in his media availability Monday, indicating that the injury wasn’t as serious as feared, but did not offer a timeline for Epps to return as the regular season winds down.
In the meantime, there is an opportunity for Ja’Borri McGhee and King Grace to step up at the two-guard spot. Grace has played at the three for much of his freshman campaign, and his scoring versatility has made him an exciting option off the bench.
“I think the thing that sticks out about him is that he has no fear,” Jans said of Grace. “He’s got no fear, and he’s got a lot of confidence. When he gets in the game, he gets right at it. He’s an athlete. He’s got a toughness about him, and he’s very coachable.”
Tipoff against Alabama is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
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