STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team won a close 69-66 game against Furman on Friday night, overcoming the hot shooting of Furman’s Alex Hunter and bouncing back after blowing a big lead to post their second consecutive win.

“That was obviously a barn burner, unbelievable game, I thought the first 10 minutes were the best defense we played all season,” Bulldogs coach Ben Howland said. “They made a really nice comeback, and Hunter started to knock down 3s, and boy can he shoot.”

Hunter, who dropped 30 points on the Bulldogs on 11-of-15 shooting, including 8 of 11 from 3-point range, was one of many Furman players praised by Howland, and the coach was certainly happy with the victory considering the quality of the opponent. 

“This was a really good win over a very good team,” Howland said.  

The Bulldogs were held in the opening minutes by solid defense from the visitors, getting called for a couple charges and forced to take contested shots, but they went on a 5-minute, 18-0 run midway through the half to take control.

Garrison Brooks was particularly impressive on offense, leading the way with 14 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs led 35-24 at halftime, but Furman had closed the gap a bit, and those efforts to keep pace turned into a full-blown comeback. With just 8 minutes left, they found themselves in the lead. Going into the final minutes they were trading buckets with the Bulldogs and holding onto a close lead.

Hunter had a monster game for the visitors, and his clutch 3-point shooting was a big factor. But Cameron Matthews came up big down the stretch for the Bulldogs on defense, and his steal and dunk helped the Bulldogs retake the lead late. 

Howland had praise for Matthews and Brooks after the game. “Having (Matthews) on the court is one of the best things we can have late in games and anytime we need a stop,” Howland said. 

The Bulldogs took back the lead with just more than a minute left, and Iverson Molinar and Shakeel Moore came up big in the closing minutes.

Hunter was the one entrusted with the final shot for Furman with just 4 seconds on the clock, but he couldn’t get a clean shot off to send it to overtime. As for the Bulldogs, Brooks led the way with 18 points, and Molinar, Moore, and DJ Jeffries joined him in double-digit scoring. 

The Bulldogs will travel to Jackson for a matchup with Winthrop on Dec. 21 at the Mississippi Coliseum. This will be their last nonconference game before opening their SEC campaign against No. 24 Arkansas on Dec. 19 at The Hump.