STARKVILLE — Josh Hubbard’s day got off to an inauspicious start.
Mississippi State’s star freshman guard picked up two fouls within the first minute and a half Saturday against Arkansas, quickly sending him to the bench and forcing the Bulldogs to run their offense through the interior. But Hubbard once again came through when his team needed him most, nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the key with less than a minute remaining to give MSU the lead for good.
The Bulldogs’ defense came up with a pair of late stops on the other end, with Cameron Matthews poking the ball away from Razorbacks forward Makhi Mitchell and Shakeel Moore recovering it for the steal. It all added up to a 71-67 MSU victory as the Bulldogs completed a sweep of their critical three-game stretch against Southeastern Conference bottom-feeders.
“We were down with close to a minute left, and we just knew we had to get a quick bucket,” Hubbard said. “We just read what the defense gave us and took the shot.”
Even with Hubbard, who scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, out due to the early foul trouble, MSU (17-8, 6-6 SEC) used a 10-0 run to surge into the lead. The Bulldogs scored their first 29 points either in the paint or at the free throw line, not even attempting a 3-pointer until after Hubbard returned to action nine minutes into the game.
Arkansas (12-13, 3-9) battled back, ultimately tying the game with three minutes left in the first half on a Tramon Mark 3-pointer, but MSU got an answer from Hubbard behind the arc and a KeShawn Murphy layup to take a five-point lead into the break.
Forward D.J. Jeffries returned to action after missing the last two games with a knee injury, but he was on the court for just three minutes before telling head coach Chris Jans that he did not feel up to playing more. Trey Fort, who has been out with a thumb injury since late January, has been cleared to return but did not see any action Saturday.
“I was proud of (Jeffries) for just attempting to give us some minutes,” Jans said. “Hopefully we’ve got a few days here where he can get closer to 100 percent and help our basketball team.”
The Bulldogs scored 40 points in the paint despite star post player Tolu Smith’s up-and-down afternoon. Smith, who was dealing with cramps during the game, also sat out for much of the second half with foul trouble and finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Cameron Matthews did a little bit of everything, as he often does, racking up a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while making all six of his 2-point field goal attempts. He also set a key screen on the Razorbacks’ Davonte Davis to set up Hubbard’s late go-ahead 3-pointer, then stripped the ball for Moore’s steal at the 10-second mark.
“He’s our heartbeat. He’s our leader. He’s our voice, along with some other guys, but he’s the biggest voice in the room,” Jans said. “He just makes so many plays that don’t show up in the stat sheet. He’s always in the right spot defensively, and he’s suggesting what we should do and he’s really grown that way. I love that he’s so bought in, and his knowledge of the game is so high.”
Mark, Arkansas’ leading scorer, was held to six points, but Mitchell consistently had the edge down low against Smith and finished with a game-high 21 while Khalif Battle added 18. Mitchell and Battle helped the Razorbacks surge into the lead on a few occasions in the second half, but both eventually fouled out, as did Mark, in a game where the two teams were called for a combined 45 fouls.
MSU held a 42-27 edge on the boards, and although the Bulldogs committed 14 turnovers, they limited Arkansas to 10 points off of them.
Now back in control of their own destiny as far as an NCAA Tournament berth is concerned, MSU hosts rival Ole Miss on Wednesday night to try and earn a split of the season series. The Rebels edged the Bulldogs 86-82 in Oxford on Jan. 30.
“Winning college basketball games is hard,” Jans said. “We won against a very talented team. It may not have been as aesthetically pleasing as everybody wants it to be, but at this point in the season, you just have to win. I’m proud of the fact that they stuck together, our huddles were good, they found a way.”
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