STARKVILLE — Cameron Matthews bounced up and down on the spot before fielding high-fives from teammates on his way to the foul line.
With 4 minutes, 20 seconds left in Wednesday night’s game, Matthews had a chance for a three-point play that would put Mississippi State ahead of No. 19 Tennessee. His layup through contact had dropped, tying the game at 61-all and sending Matthews to the line.
His ensuing free throw clanked off the front of the rim.
And Mississippi State never did take the lead.
Plays like Matthews’ were an example of how the Bulldogs (14-9, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) failed to take the initiative Wednesday in a 72-63 loss to the Volunteers (17-6, 8-3 SEC).
“We didn’t do what we needed to do down the stretch,” forward Garrison Brooks said. Mississippi State charged back after falling behind 14-2 early on but never did much more than hang around. The Bulldogs never led by more than three points, and when they were ahead, it didn’t last long.
Once again, MSU missed out on an opportunity to bolster its case for the NCAA tournament résumé. The Bulldogs have failed to capitalize on recent chances, suffering close road losses at No. 5 Kentucky and at Arkansas.
“It was a great chance for us — great chance for us as a résumé-building game,” Brooks said.
Wednesday night’s game was just another chapter as Mississippi State lost at home for just the second time all season. The Bulldogs’ record at Humphrey Coliseum fell to 12-2 on the year, and MSU has yet to win a true road game this season.
MSU could have made up for that with a victory over Tennessee, which won its sixth straight SEC game Wednesday night. The Vols made eight 3-pointers and shot over 60 percent in the second half.
“You’re just not going to beat good teams allowing them to shoot that high a percentage,” Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said.
Still, Mississippi State had its chances. A 3 by Iverson Molinar amid an 8-0 run put MSU ahead after Tennessee’s fast start out of the gate. The Vols made their first six shots and eight of their first nine, but the Bulldogs clawed back.
They trailed by two at the break and scored the first four points of the second half to take the lead. But Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James scored five straight points to shift the momentum back in the Vols’ direction.
“I thought we played really hard and got ourselves back in the game and had a chance,” Howland said. “We just could never build on any of the leads that we started to get to start the second half.”
Mississippi State took the lead for the last time on a 3 by Brooks with 5:15 to go. But James answered with a triple, his final score in an 18-point night. Kennedy Chandler matched James’ output but went down with a right knee injury late in the second half.
Freshman guard Zakai Zeigler stepped in and put the game away for Tennessee, scoring the final six points. He made four free throws in the final 46 seconds to ice things while Mississippi State went ice cold at the line.
After Matthews’ and-one miss, D.J. Jeffries put a disappointing capper on a solid night by missing a pair of free throws with 1:24 to go and Mississippi State down five points. The Bulldogs finished at barely over 60 percent from the line.
“We needed to be 19 for 23, not 14 for 23,” Howland said.
It might not have mattered much in a game where the Bulldogs scored their final points with 2:44 to go. Howland said Tennessee started faceguarding Molinar tighter than ever, and the move “threw us off,” the seventh-year coach said.
To Brooks, Wednesday’s game. came down to the fact that Mississippi State wasn’t tough enough to take home the victory. He’s confident that will change.
“We’re very capable of doing it,” Brooks said. “We have to find a way to win. That’s what tough teams do. That’s what really good teams do.”
Mississippi State, which has lost four of its last five, has seen those really good teams in action. The Bulldogs have played close games with Kentucky, Arkansas and now Tennessee.
Now they need to win some.
“We’ve just got to do it,” Howland said. “We’ve got to be tougher, and we’ve got to be able to finish.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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