STARKVILLE — Having one volume scorer in the backcourt is nice, but Mississippi State’s offense could be that much more complete with two.
Josh Hubbard opened his sophomore season Monday night by knocking down six of his seven 3-point attempts, and unlike so much of last year, he had help. Boston College transfer Claudell Harris Jr. was 6-for-10 from deep as the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half to defeat West Georgia, 95-60.
MSU’s 14 made 3-pointers were a single-game high in two-plus seasons under head coach Chris Jans.
“Claudell came off the bench and gave us a big spark,” Jans said. “I love Claudell Harris. I love what he’s about. He made a conscious effort this summer to buy in. … I’m not saying we’re going to make 14 threes every single night, but it’s nice to know that recruiting paid off and we have more guys who are capable of turning the scoreboard and helping us offensively.”
Jans started with a small lineup featuring two sub-six-foot guards in Hubbard and Penn State transfer Kanye Clary, with Shawn Jones starting on the wing, Cameron Matthews at forward and KeShawn Murphy in the post. The Bulldogs (1-0) struggled on the boards early in the game, but after the Wolves (0-1) trimmed the MSU lead to three late in the first half, the hosts pushed the margin back out to double digits by halftime.
Hubbard was a 35.5 percent 3-point shooter as a freshman and made long-range accuracy a point of emphasis in the offseason. It paid off as he led all scorers with 26 points, slamming home a pair of fastbreak dunks in addition to his efficiency from outside the arc. Harris closed the first half with a pair of 3-pointers, including one in transition just ahead of the buzzer.
“I came here to learn how to be a winner. I knew I could do that under Chris Jans,” said Harris, who finished with 20 points. “Me and Josh, we have a great relationship on and off the court. We talk to each other the whole game, and nights like this when he’s hot and I’m hot, it’s hard to stop.”
The Bulldogs quickly pushed the lead to 20 points after five minutes in the second half and cruised from there. Jans said in the preseason that MSU would play faster this year, and it certainly did Monday, but everything still starts on the defensive end — the Bulldogs forced 20 turnovers including 17 steals, converting them into 31 points. MSU also had a 26-4 edge in fastbreak points.
Murphy, who entered the transfer portal in the spring but opted to return to Starkville, filled the box score with seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.
“I feel like we could have forced more turnovers. We want more,” Murphy said. “Whatever we had was not enough. (Jans) always preaches that it could be more. There’s more we could do (with) stronger defensive breakdowns.”
With the game in blowout territory, Jans emptied his bench and had 11 players play at least 10 minutes. The Bulldogs have seven newcomers in their rotation, so the experience early in the season playing with different lineups will be critical moving forward.
MSU is back in action Friday evening at home against Georgia State.
“It was nice that it unfolded that way,” Jans said. “We were able to play multiple guys double-figure minutes, get guys some much-needed game experience, play a bunch of different lineups, have different rotations, which is great. Certainly it’s not going to be that way all year long, who knows if that’ll happen again, but when it does, it’s a luxury.”
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