Chris Jans said earlier this week that Mississippi State would remember the Sunday’s win over Utah any time the Bulldogs found themselves in a tight spot at halftime or during a TV timeout.
It turned out that MSU was in a similar situation in its very next game.
The Bulldogs trailed SMU in Dallas by as many as 13 points in the first half before rallying back for an 84-79 victory over the Mustangs. MSU earned its first road win of the year, something that took until February for the Bulldogs to do last season.
Five MSU players finished in double figures, led by KeShawn Murphy’s 16 points in 30 minutes off the bench. Georgia transfer RJ Melendez had his best game as a Bulldog, finishing with 15 points, while Josh Hubbard, despite an inefficient night shooting the ball, still had 14. Florida transfer Riley Kugel added 13 points and Claudell Harris chipped in with 10.
A fast-break layup by Hubbard early in the second half gave MSU (5-0) its first lead of the night, and the Bulldogs went ahead for good with 13 minutes left on a Harris layup. MSU started the game 3-for-18 shooting and just 8-for-33, but made seven shots in a row during a stretch that bridged the two halves.
The Bulldogs had a 16-6 edge in offensive rebounding, leading to a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points. MSU’s bench also outscored that of SMU 54-27 thanks to the efforts of Murphy, Melendez, Kugel and Harris.
The Mustangs (4-2) also had five players in double figures, but none with more than Kario Oquendo’s 13 points. SMU made more than half its field goals but took 21 fewer of them than the Bulldogs thanks to the visitors’ dominance on the offensive glass.
Hubbard also had a special guest in attendance — NBA legend and Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade, who is Hubbard’s third cousin. According to Wade’s Instagram story, the two had never met prior to Friday night, but that didn’t stop Wade from making a postgame speech in MSU’s locker room.
The Bulldogs are back in action Thursday night against UNLV as part of the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe. The next night, they will face either Butler or Northwestern.
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