STARKVILLE — Defeat stared Mississippi State men’s basketball dead in the eye in the closing seconds of Saturday’s matinee game against Nicholls.
With just 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs called timeout, up 68-66, to set up an inbounds play with hopes of sealing the game.
The ensuing inbounds play was anything but, with Colonels guard Spencer Pierce stealing the ball and quickly getting an open look from beyond the arc.
A made three-ball would have sealed an upset victory over No. 17 MSU in a game that Nicholls led from the start and battled back in the second half to stay close.
However, the shot didn’t fall, rimming out as the Bulldogs secured the rebound, escaping Humphrey Coliseum with a 68-66 victory to stay unbeaten on the year.
“We’ll find out how many lessons we’ve learned in SEC play,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans said. “Hopefully, we’re going to be in a lot of close games…I’d much rather learn and grow while you win then have to learn tough lessons while you lose.”
Things got dicey late for the Bulldogs (11-0) after Dashawn Davis made the second of both free throws with 5.6 seconds left on the clock.
At that point, Mississippi State was leading, 68-64, hoping to get one bad shot from Nicholls to secure the rebound and win the game.
Instead, Eric Reed Jr. fouled Colonels guard Latrell Jones, sending him to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity.
Jans was livid on the sideline, explaining after that if Davis made the second, he didn’t want to foul up four. If he made the first, but missed the second, the Bulldogs were going to foul up three.
Those are going to be big things to learn from moving forward for MSU, but luckily, that mistake, coupled with the bad inbound pass, didn’t hurt the Bulldogs on Saturday.
“They weren’t going to be scared or intimidated to walk in here and go toe-to-toe with us,” Jans said. “We knew that. We talked to our guys about it, and they did that. They got off to a way better start than we did and established themselves.”
“…We took our foot off the gas up 10 or 12. And then at the end, it got a little wild.”
Nicholls had control of the first half, taking advantage of an 0-for-6 start from the field for Mississippi State and 26.9 percent shooting overall, to lead, 30-27, at the break.
The Bulldogs also dealt with foul trouble for what seemed like the first time this season, with Tolu Smith, Cameron Matthews and Tyler Stevenson all picking up two personal fouls.
It didn’t help that the Bulldogs went 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, but whatever was said in the locker room during the half, things picked up in a big way, going on a 23-8 run in the first 7:34 of the second half to storm out to a 50-38 lead.
“[Jans] was just telling us to play how we play, play our game, and play tough,” Davis said. “…We’re going to prevail every time we do that.”
Two massive dunks from D.J. Jeffries early on got the fans in The Hump back into it, bringing some much-needed energy into a game where the Bulldogs needed it.
The announced crowd of just over 6,000 played a much bigger role during MSU’s second half surge and as Nicholls found its way back into the game.
That early boost was the difference on both sides of the ball and those bursts have been vital over the last week as the Bulldogs have had two consecutive scares against Jackson State and now the Colonels.
Forward Tyler Stevenson provided a much-needed spark off the bench for the Bulldogs, scoring 12 points in the first half, including six points late in the half as Mississippi State began cutting the deficit.
“I just try to keep my confidence up,” Stevenson said. “I never get too low on my lows. I never get too high on my highs. My teammates believe in me. My coaches believe in me and I have to give credit to them for putting the confidence in me.”
Stevenson was one of three Bulldogs who finished in double-digits in scoring on the afternoon as Smith led the team with 15 points and Stevenson and Davis were close behind, finishing with 14 points.
This tough stretch for Mississippi State, with four games in nine days, wraps up next Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb. against the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference, Drake, before a much-needed, week-long break as SEC play begins Dec. 28 against No. 4 Alabama.
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