STARKVILLE — Mississippi State showed more offensive firepower Tuesday night against No. 9 Tennessee at Humphrey Coliseum.
But late in a close game between the two schools, the Bulldogs appeared to run out of bullets.
The Volunteers, meanwhile, just kept on shooting.
Tennessee (15-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) made eight of its nine 3-point attempts in the second half, burying a Mississippi State team that showed improvement but couldn’t parlay it into a crucial conference win.
“It was a golden opportunity for our program, for our team this year, and it’s costly,” MSU coach Chris Jans said. “It’s very costly.”
The Bulldogs (12-6, 1-5 SEC) hung with one of the nation’s top teams for approximately 37 minutes, but what the Vols did in the final three sank MSU on Tuesday in a 70-59 loss.
Mississippi State lost its third straight SEC game despite being competitive in all three but unable to break away down the stretch.
“I feel like a broken record in terms of the score, the possessions, the feel,” Jans said.
After three straight MSU misses from deep, Olivier Nkamhoua buried Tennessee’s third straight 3-pointer from the left wing, stretching the Vols’ lead to nine points with 2:48 to go and effectively putting the game away.
The shot followed 3s by Zakai Zeigler and Josiah-Jordan James, who answered MSU triples by Shakeel Moore and Dashawn Davis to keep Tennessee ahead late in the game.
Even without guards Santiago Vescovi and Tyreke Key, the Volunteers made the contest’s most important shots.
“They hit some big shots down the stretch, built their confidence and ended the game,” Moore said.
It was — no surprise — a 3-pointer that gave the Vols their first lead of the game less than a minute into the second half after the teams went into the break knotted at 23-all.
The halftime score in itself was a disappointment for a Bulldogs team that never trailed. MSU led by nine points with 6:48 left in the first half, but six points from Zeigler — including four free throws — helped Tennessee whittle away the lead.
“I thought it was crucial,” Jans said of the Vols’ 6-0 run to equalize. “That game was right where we needed it.”
A triple by Davis midway through the second half put MSU on top for the final time. The lead lasted all of 21 seconds.
Phillips scored the Volunteers’ next eight points, and Zeigler had the eight after that as the Vols’ superior talent won the day. Zeigler played all 40 minutes, and his 24 points were the most of any opposing player in a game against Mississippi State this season.
Phillips added 18 points, and James had 13 for the Vols.
“They’ve got some winning guys over there,” Jans said.
The Bulldogs themselves seemed to have improved on offense, going 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from deep after an 0-for-18 performance against Auburn on Saturday. But they shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 63.6 percent at the free throw line.
MSU will host Florida (10-7, 3-2 SEC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Starkville.
With a trip to No. 4 Alabama coming up Jan. 25, the Bulldogs will be searching for a much-needed SEC win — again — as they try to solve the issues plaguing them.
“It’s not a lack of fight,” Moore said. “It’s not that. I think we’re a good basketball team. I just think we’ve got to stay the course.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
