STARKVILLE — Jayden Epps wasn’t known as a defender when he transferred to Mississippi State last summer. The former Illinois and Georgetown guard came in to offer scoring relief for MSU’s star shooter, Josh Hubbard, and did just that on Saturday in a win over Memphis at The Hump. He led the Bulldogs with 19 points, finishing just one shy of a fourth consecutive 20-plus-point scoring performance.
But Epps also played crucial defense, recording a momentum-building block for the Bulldogs as they tried to wrestle back control against the Tigers down the stretch.
“I’m nervous that he thinks he’s a shot blocker now,” MSU head coach Chris Jans joked after the game.
The play helped fuel a strong period of defense for the Bulldogs, who climbed back on top midway through the second half and never looked back in a 71-66 win.
The block wasn’t the only important play in the final minutes. Epps also made a couple of buckets. Hubbard got going to score 10 in the final minutes, and Shawn Jones Jr. came up clutch with a pair of fast-break buckets with a minute left to play.
The performance reflected an attitude the team has been searching for in recent weeks, and may finally have found: a winning mentality.
“I feel like we had a lot of plays like my block in the game, Shawn saving the ball, jumping into the crowd,” Epps said. “Coaches always preach plays like that; make a play that’s going to win us the game. Make a play like that, something that won’t show up on a statsheet. We just try to stay in the game and make big plays, and do whatever we’ve got to do to help the team win.”
At 7-5, the Bulldogs didn’t quite have the strong start to the season that they might have hoped for, but they answered the call as alarm bells were going off. The win over the Tigers made it four in the last five games, and three in a row to survive close calls going into SEC play.
Epps’ scoring has been an important part in those wins, but his development, and a mark of the program’s impact on him, has seen him produce as an all-around player rather than a pure shooter.
“I love how he’s playing right now,” Jans said of Epps. “He is so locked into our program and being the best version of himself. His productivity for us for the last four or five games has been off the charts on both ends. He wasn’t known as a defender, but he’s really improved in that end of the floor, and I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him, and he wants to win.”
Beyond just Epps, rotational players stepped up in the win over the Tigers. Sergej Macura and Achor Achor both had good spells at wing, Jamarion Davis-Fleming came back into the fold with some key rebounds and defensive moments and Ja’Borri McGhee returned after an ankle problem cut his night short on Tuesday against Long Island.
Jones, who has struggled for much of the season with shooting and turnovers, also had a big second half, and seemed to reflect the change in the team’s fortunes with his post-game remarks.
“It’s nothing new, that’s basketball,” Jones said of his earlier struggles. “Some days you’re going to make them, some days you’re going to miss them. As long as you show up at the right time that it’s given to you, that’s all that matters.”
MSU showed up at the right time on Saturday, and is now looking up after a difficult start to the season.
The Bulldogs will take some time off for the holidays before returning to the floor on Monday to face Alabama State.
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