STARKVILLE — As tough as Saturday night’s 32-point loss at Alabama was for Mississippi State, the team meeting the following day might have been even tougher.
Nobody raised their voices any more than normal, head coach Chris Jans said, but Jans and the Bulldogs’ players were straightforward about what went wrong against the Crimson Tide and serious about what needed to change in the second half of Southeastern Conference play.
After MSU’s 75-62 victory Wednesday night over Georgia at Humphrey Coliseum, Jans was pleased with the early returns.
“For the first time in a long time, we had players talking and some things that were said were serious,” Jans said. “I loved how they did it. I loved how they talked about issues that are below the surface. Everyone handled it really well, and then our practice was one of the better practices we’ve had in a long time on Monday.”
It was a total team effort for State (15-8, 4-6 SEC) in its first game without defensive specialist D.J. Jeffries, who is nursing a knee injury sustained in the Alabama game. But MSU got another rotation player back as forward KeShawn Murphy saw his first action since Jan. 6 at South Carolina and provided an offensive spark almost immediately upon entering the game.
Murphy, who had made just one 3-pointer in eight games entering Wednesday, was 2-for-4 from deep and finished with 10 points in just 15 minutes. He was one of four State players in double figures, led by Tolu Smith’s 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
“Really exciting to have (Murphy) back,” said forward Cameron Matthews, who had nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals and finished with a plus/minus of +23. “He’s a really good player. We’re just going to work on him getting back into the flow of things, locking in on scout, different things like that. I have confidence in Murph that he’s going to get back right.”
Shawn Jones Jr. made his second start of the season in place of Jeffries, and although he struggled to knock down shots, he was solid on the defensive end and found a number of open looks. Josh Hubbard, playing through an ankle injury, had 14 points, and Shakeel Moore chipped in with 11.
MSU built a 14-point lead late in the first half, but Georgia’s Noah Thomasson consistently kept the visitors alive and kicking, scoring a game-high 20 points on 6-for-11 from 3-point range. Thomasson aside, UGA (14-9, 4-6) was unable to crack State’s defense, with the hosts also holding a 43-33 edge on the boards.
“Our first 10-12 minutes of defense was as good as any that I can remember in a while,” Jans said. “We were locked in, and they were fighting and scratching and clawing. Even their first basket was a tough, tough shot that Thomasson made. We were really guarding him and that was kind of deflating, but we were going. Our motors were revved, guys were flying around, our huddles were really good.”
Dashawn Davis also played well despite finishing with just five points — he dished out eight assists and had a pair of steals. MSU had 19 assists on 25 made field goals and moved the ball well along the perimeter. State also was 16-for-19 at the free throw line, certainly a sight for sore eyes, and committed just 10 turnovers, its fewest in a game since Jan. 24 at Florida.
A 10-0 Georgia run cut MSU’s lead to three with six minutes left, but then Jones hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, Matthews came up with a steal and Hubbard knocked down a transition 3-pointer. UGA was never closer than within seven points after that.
“Our focus all week was getting back defensively, getting back to our identity,” Matthews said. “It’s never about the guy who’s down, it’s always the next guy back up.”
State is back on the road Saturday night against last-place Missouri, which remained winless in conference play with a 19-point loss Wednesday night against Texas A&M. The matchup with the Tigers will be MSU’s best chance to pick up its elusive first true road victory.
“We’re just starting the second half of (SEC play); there’s a lot of games to be played,” Jans said. “But certainly considering the circumstances, I loved how we responded.”
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