STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s signature defensive intensity, which had been missing in action of late during a stretch of three losses in four games, returned in a big way Saturday, and not a moment too soon.
Even with a top-10 opponent in town, Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans considered this game against No. 8 Auburn a must-win. MSU had struggled mightily away from Humphrey Coliseum, with two more road games coming up in the week ahead. Jans sent a text message to his son telling him Saturday was a must-win game, but did not share that opinion with his team.
The players, though, understood the matchup’s importance as much as Jans did. The Bulldogs held the Tigers to 34 percent shooting, decisively won the battle on the boards and found their offense in the second half in a 64-58 victory, their second win over a top-10 team this month.
“They played the way we feel like is how we need to play to win games,” Jans said. “I know it isn’t always aesthetically pleasing for everybody, but you get into conference games against good teams, and you have to slow down a little bit and it becomes somewhat of a rock fight. That was a classic rock fight this afternoon.”
Following Wednesday night’s loss at Florida that dropped MSU (14-6, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) to 0-4 in true road games, Jans lightened the Bulldogs’ load — the team hardly practiced Thursday and cut Friday’s workout short as well. MSU came out fresh and energized Saturday, limiting Auburn (16-4, 5-2), which came in averaging more than 83 points per game, to just 21 in the first half.
The game was merely tied at that point, though, because the Bulldogs’ offense fared no better against the defensive-minded Tigers. MSU did well to slow the game down early on, but did so almost to a fault, forcing up tough shots on a few occasions to avoid 30-second violations.
“Our identity is defense and toughness,” said D.J. Jeffries, who was held to five points but finished with 12 rebounds. “That’s one thing we can always rely on. We’re going to rely on defense and toughness, and they helped us win the game.”
The Bulldogs’ offense came to life almost immediately after halftime as freshman Josh Hubbard, who made his first collegiate start, scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half. Cameron Matthews, who along with Jeffries spearheads MSU’s physical defense, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Shakeel Moore was also in double figures with 12 points.
A 3-point play by Tre Donaldson gave Auburn a one-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs went ahead for good on the next possession when Jeffries dribbled along the baseline and found Tolu Smith, who had broken free of his defender, for an easy dunk. Johni Broome defended Smith well for most of the game, holding him to nine points and scoring all of his 14 in the second half.
“(Jans) showed us a couple of our clips from last year’s games, and we were just a bit more grimy on defense,” Moore said. “That’s what we have to do. We have to out-rebound teams and outplay them.”
Free throw shooting was again an issue for MSU, which missed its first five attempts, but the Bulldogs were a respectable 9-for-14 at the foul line in the second half and finished at 50 percent. Matthews even bought MSU an extra point after grabbing his own missed free throw and laying it in to put the Bulldogs ahead by four with less than four minutes to play.
MSU led by just one with under two minutes left when Hubbard inbounded to Moore, who fired a pass right back to Hubbard as the freshman sprinted to the wing. Hubbard, in one fluid motion, caught the ball and drained a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to restore the Bulldogs’ multi-possession lead. MSU was just 5-for-21 from deep on the day, but Hubbard had delivered again when it mattered most.
“He looked at me like he scored on me,” Jans said. “It was pretty stone cold, and made me feel really good inside. He’s not afraid of the big moment. He’s obviously not afraid to take the big shots. He’s been doing it his entire career, and it’s nice to have someone out there like that.”
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Tigers 45-30, including a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass that helped them score 12 second-chance points while holding Auburn to three. MSU also outscored the Tigers 34-20 in the paint, thanks in part to Auburn big man Dylan Cardwell battling foul trouble and playing for just six minutes.
Jans’ team has another quick turnaround ahead, traveling to face rival Ole Miss on Tuesday with another road game four days after that against Alabama.
“We had to have it. I didn’t really say those words with the team, but I think they knew what was at stake,” Jans said. “We talked about the Quad 1 opportunity and how important it was because it’s at home, and the biggest thing we talked about before we left the locker room was that this was our court, our day and our time. We had to figure out a way to get it done.”
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