Mississippi State’s star scorer was starting to look more like himself again in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday.
Junior guard Josh Hubbard shook off a 1-9 shooting performance in the first half and was leading the charge as MSU looked to close out a comeback from 16 points down.
Over four minutes, Hubbard scored seven points from two shots, including a four-point play to close the gap to just three points after Mizzou had led by 16.
It looked like an improbable comeback was on, but the Tigers killed the game with 10 points from the foul line in the final two minutes.
While the Bulldogs didn’t do enough offensively in the end, defensive shortcomings allowed the Tigers to build an ultimately insurmountable lead.
“We’re not into good-old-college-try and all that good stuff, but they did stay together,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said after the game. “We did a good enough job to manipulate the game to give ourselves a chance. We had a couple of chances there with the free throws and a couple of shots to make the game very interesting. Unfortunately, they just didn’t go down, and we just didn’t do well enough in certain stretches. The lead in the end just proved to be too much.”
Mizzou forward Mark Mitchell led his team with 19 points and was one of two players to hit eight shots from the foul line. His ability to attack inside and draw fouls became a problem for the Bulldogs, and the Tigers were able to finish off the game at the foul line because of that tenacity in the paint.
“He’s just relentless. He’s got a huge motor, and he can hurt in a lot of different ways,” Jans said of Mitchell. “He had 19 on 14 shots, but he got to the line 12 times. We tried different things, doubling and different matchups, and he’s just a really good player. He’s an all-league level player, and he was a problem.”
The loss was a missed opportunity for the 11-11 Bulldogs to grab some winnable conference games. They have a date with No. 15 Arkansas at home on Saturday, a chance to take a shot at a vulnerable conference power to gain some confidence going into the final stretch of SEC play against some of the best in the league.
Tennessee and Ole Miss are on deck after Arkansas, and Jans had hoped for a pair of wins to boost the team’s momentum going into a crucial stretch.
“Obviously, that’s not the case. So, we’ve got to figure out a way to stay confident, stay together, tweak this and tweak that,” Jans said. “We want to get everyone as healthy as they’ve been in a long, long time, knock on wood. We’ll mix in different types of practices this week to help prepare us for the second half of the season.”
The week of reflection and a pair of days off comes at a good time for MSU. Among the team’s inconsistencies is a lack of high-volume scoring from Hubbard and Jayden Epps, but both players took a positive turn in the second half at Mizzou. Even in defeat, the scoring returned for both players, and the team needs that to continue going into the weekend.
Epps bagged 23 while Hubbard overcame a back spasm in the first half to fuel the comeback attempt down the stretch, recording 22 points. It was Epps’ best game since his 27 against Texas on Jan. 3, and Hubbard’s first 20-point outing since the loss to Alabama on Jan. 13.
“Like Josh does, he made some tough shots and got us back in the game,” Jans said. “Epps has great confidence, been-there, done-that at different places. He’s always been a scorer at high-level programs and he knows what his role is for us. They both weren’t super efficient, but they made shots to give us a chance to win that game on Saturday.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
