STARKVILLE — Josh Hubbard was on one against Tennessee at Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night, and he wasted no time bringing everyone up to speed on that fact. 

MSU’s star guard hit 4-4 from the floor in the opening minutes on the way to a 20-point first-half performance, scoring all but eight of his team’s points. 

He would end the night with 31 points and a +1 impact through 33 minutes on the court, registering his highest scoring tally since the Bulldogs opened their SEC campaign with a win at Texas on January 3. 

And it still wasn’t enough as Tennessee won 73-64. 

In two spells where Hubbard was rested in the first half, the Vols went on runs of 7-0 and 12-0, respectively. The lead quickly grew in the second half, ballooning to as much as a 23-point gap. 

The Bulldogs mounted a fierce 18-0 run towards the end of the game, pulling within just enough distance to put the pressure on, but still ultimately fell short.  

“We know what we had to do going into this game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, a very physical game,” Hubbard said after the game. “That stretch where we did come back to get within five, we were very physical. They didn’t get a bunch of offensive rebounds, and we were great on the offensive end. With that, you can create momentum and get back in the game.”

Hubbard’s performance, paired with positive stretches from the team as a whole, showed what the Bulldogs are capable of, but it was too much to overcome by the time they switched on. 

“We got a little bit of momentum, and we just tried to keep it. We just have to learn how to put together a 40-minute game like that,” Jayden Epps said. “If not 40 minutes, at least 35. We have to figure out a way to put together a whole game and fight and scratch, and claw the whole game, so that we can maybe win some of these games that we’ve got left.”

“That run that we had there in the second half, to at least have the other team call a timeout or two and start getting a little nervous about the lead dissipating the way it did,” head coach Chris Jans said. “But that can’t be why we play a little bit harder. It’s got to be from the jump, and it’s got to be from the get-go. It’s got to be all the time. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to push the right buttons to get them to play like that all the time.”

Hubbard’s Historic Trajectory

While Hubbard might trade his personal accolades for more wins this season, his prolific performances saw him make history again on Wednesday. He is now tied with Barry Stewart for the most career three-pointers in program history while also becoming the first SEC player to record more than 500 points in each of their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. 

He is now sixth all time in program history for points, 96 shy of cracking the Top 5.

“Man, it’s a blessing for sure,” he said of the record-setting career he is having as a Bulldog. “I wasn’t even focused on it before the game, but it’s definitely a blessing to be in that conversation.”

Trip up North

MSU is back on the road for its next game at Ole Miss, another 11-13 team performing well below what it expected of itself at the start of the season. 

Jans was asked if there was hope for carrying some momentum from the second half run into preparation for the rivalry game, but the MSU coach was more focused on turning the page. 

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll get discussed tomorrow, but that isn’t necessarily going to help us win the game,” he said. “It’s going to have a little bearing on Saturday’s outcome. Right now, I’m not thinking about it too much. I’m sure here shortly that my mind will switch over to preparing for our next game which happens to be on the road at Ole Miss.”

Chris Beard’s team pulled out a 68-67 win over the Bulldogs last month, delivering Jans his first home loss in the rivalry series in his four years at the helm in Starkville. 

“Certainly, looking at from a rivalry standpoint, we dug ourselves a hole by losing at home by one,” Jans said. “That didn’t sit well with us, but we get another crack to try to even the score, if you will. I’m sure by tomorrow morning that we’ll be ready to attack that.”

The Bulldogs and Ole Miss will tip off at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.