STARKVILLE — Iverson Molinar slowly lowered his right hand.

Molinar did his best to contest a deep 3-pointer by Minnesota guard Payton Willis, keeping his arm extended as he watched Willis’ shot arc toward the basket.

The triple sank straight through the net, not even touching the rim. Molinar dropped his arm and stood still for a second before walking slowly inside the 3-point line.

The junior guard had done all he could to will the Bulldogs back into Sunday’s game in the final seconds. But it wasn’t enough.

Willis’ 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go helped Minnesota (7-0) deal Mississippi State (6-2) a 81-76 loss at Humphrey Coliseum after the Bulldogs tied the game in the final minute.

“We had a chance in the end,” Mississippi State forward Garrison Brooks said. “Willis made a tough shot.”

MSU tied the game for the first time since it was scoreless on Molinar’s second straight and-one layups as MSU finally tied the game with 42.9 seconds left. The Bulldogs had trailed by 14 points twice, including to open the game as the Golden Gophers boat-raced them out of the gate.

It was a stretch of play “unlike” Mississippi State, Brooks said.

“We were shell-shocked because they were scoring at a high rate, and then we were taking quick shots and not scoring,” Bulldogs coach Ben Howland said. “We’ve got to be better offensively and defensively.”

Minnesota pulled ahead by double digits again after the Bulldogs got within a single point, going back up 14 points with 9:46 to play on a 3-pointer by E.J. Stephens.

But Mississippi State clawed back, thanks in no small part to Molinar. The junior had eight straight points to tie the game at 76-all, knotting things up by absorbing contact from Luke Loewe, laying the ball in and sliding across the baseline before making a foul shot.

Willis then hit the winning shot in Molinar’s face with 17 ticks remaining, and Molinar’s 3-pointer over center Eric Curry clanked off the rim. Willis grabbed the rebound, took a foul and made both free throws to ice the game.

“I thought it was a little quick,” Howland said of Molinar’s tying attempt. “They had just scored a 3; I thought he was just trying to match it. I would rather he have gone to the basket or been able to set something up.”

Molinar delivered 26 points to lead all scorers, but he finished just 2 for 11 from deep, no miss bigger than the last.

Brooks added 13 points for Mississippi State, including a buzzer-beating 3 to end the first half. His deep, contested heave caromed off the glass and in, making the halftime score 35-32 in Minnesota’s favor.

“We did a great job of fighting our way back to have it down 3 at the half,” Howland said.
But Jamison Battle scored 13 of Minnesota’s 16 points in less than five minutes in the second half, helping the Gophers pad their lead again.

Battle finished with 20 points, while Willis had a team-high 24. The two players combined with Stephens to sink 11 of Minnesota’s 12 made 3s as the Gophers shot 41.4 percent from deep.

“Those three guys really hurt us from the 3-point line today,” Howland said.

Mississippi State made just 9 of 29 triples for a 31 percent clip. The Bulldogs shot 43.8 percent from the field to Minnesota’s 49.2 percent mark, turning the ball over 11 times to the Gophers’ four giveaways.

Molinar made all those struggles look — however briefly — irrelevant.

“I think he was just prepared for the moment,” Brooks said. “He took advantage of it.”

But the Bulldogs couldn’t manage to turn their dismal start into a victory.

“We’re a better team than that,” Brooks said. “I think that’s where we made the mistake: digging ourselves in that hole.”

Brooks expressed confidence Mississippi State is still a “really good team,” but the Bulldogs will have another tough assignment ahead. MSU will face Colorado State (9-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.