Against a Georgia team that loves to drive the basketball and use its size to score in the paint, Mississippi State turned the tables Saturday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
Coming off its midweek bye, MSU came out looking energetic and had an answer for every Georgia run in the second half. Despite missing 12 of its 18 free throw attempts, State survived in the end and handed Georgia just its second home loss of the year, 76-75.
“We survived a lot. We survived 6-of-18 from the free throw line,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said. “We threw the ball away when all we needed to do was make a couple free throws and take it to the house. But I’m just proud of them. It’s been a long week.”
Center Michael Nwoko was in a rhythm early on, scoring MSU’s first nine points and making all four of his field goal attempts in the first four minutes of the game. MSU (17-6, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) has been looking for offense from players other than Josh Hubbard and KeShawn Murphy, and Nwoko provided that while the rest of the team was still settling in.
“The way (Nwoko) started that game, he set the tone,” Jans said. “It gave us confidence. It ran through our bench. It feels good when you’re on the road to get off to a good start and keep the crowd at bay. It was important.”
The teams traded runs for much of the first half, but after a 3-pointer by Hubbard just more than nine minutes into the game, Georgia never led again. Hubbard was just 2-for-8 from behind the arc but still led MSU with 16 points, using his quickness to blow past Georgia defenders and get inside. The sophomore eclipsed 1,000 career points Saturday and helped MSU outscore Georgia 46-28 in the paint.
Cameron Matthews filled the box score in a way only he can, with six assists, two blocks and two steals. MSU’s largest lead was nine points with four minutes left in the first half. The visitors led by eight at the break, but Georgia (16-8, 4-7) tied the game with a quick 8-0 run in two and a half minutes. Every time UGA evened the score, MSU retook the lead on the very next possession.
Shawn Jones Jr. had six big points in a row early in the second half to break a tie, and Claudell Harris Jr.’s only 3-pointer of the night put MSU in front with six and a half minutes left. State took the lead for good on a layup from Murphy, capping his 14-point, eight-rebound performance.
“It meant a lot. We had a rough week. We just had to work all week. Jans was on us real bad. But we have a good group. I trust these guys with my life, so I had no doubt we were going to come out here and get a win,” Matthews said. “KeShawn, he’s been through a lot, but I’m super proud of him. He’s been working every year, whether he’s getting major minutes or not. He comes in the gym every day working hard.”
Hubbard found RJ Melendez — who played at Georgia last year and received a smattering of boos from the fans in Athens every time he touched the ball — for an alley-oop dunk to give MSU a three-point lead in the final 90 seconds. The defense took it from there as Matthews blocked Silas Demary’s 3-pointer, and Harris came up with a steal on Georgia’s final possession.
MSU is back at Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday night to face Florida, which knocked off No. 1 Auburn on the road Saturday.
“The response (from my team) was really good. Their togetherness was good, and it showed during the game,” Jans said. “We all understand how important this game was. We needed to get back in the (win) column, and it was whatever it took to win. That’s what they did.”
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