JACKSON — Mississippi State basketball coach Chris Jans spent the time leading up to Wednesday’s game against telling anyone who would listen it wasn’t smart of MSU to play Jackson State in the Tigers’ “backyard” — the Mississippi Coliseum.
Jans was just doing what he could to lower expectations, but he was concerned when JSU jumped out to a 16-6 lead in the first half. As late as the 7:33 mark in the second half, the Tigers held a one-point lead.
“I thought I was going to be a prophet for a while,” Jans said.
But Mississippi State (10-0) outscored Jackson State 17-6 the rest of the way, fending off an upset bid by the Tigers and surging to a 69-59 victory in Jackson.
“It felt good, but personally, I feel like it really shouldn’t have been that close,” MSU guard Eric Reed, Jr. said.
The double-digit margin of victory belied a much tighter game between the two schools. Apart from a brief 16-6 Jackson State lead in the first half, the contest was within 10 points for nearly the whole way.
A late surge from the Bulldogs helped gain some separation in the final minutes.
Forward D.J Jeffries effectively iced the game with a fastbreak dunk off a turnover with 1:53 to play, putting Mississippi State up 67-56.
“It felt good,” Jeffries said. “I had a rough game. I couldn’t buy a shot.”
The senior still finished with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting, making just 1 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc.
Mississippi State delivered an average shooting performance as a team, connecting on 47 percent of its shots and 31 percent of its 3s.
Reed and big man Tolu Smith had 13 points each, and redshirt freshman KeShawn Murphy had 10.
Murphy delivered some key contributions to keep the Bulldogs afloat in the first half. The Birmingham native added three rebounds, two assists, a block and two steals.
“It’s just a matter of when; it’s not a matter of if,” Jans said. “He’s got so much ability. He’s as natural a scorer as we have in terms of just the feel he has on the offensive end.
Murphy’s contributions flipped the script after JSU’s hot start. A dunk by Smith finally put Mississippi State ahead by one, and the Bulldogs took a five-point lead into the half.
But Jackson State wasn’t done.
Guard Coltie Young, a Starkville High School product, made his sixth 3-pointer of the game to put the Tigers up five with 12:44 to play.
Young finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including seven triples.
“He’s got to feel really good about his performance,” Jans said. “He gave their team a chance to win. He played with great confidence, and he looked really good out there.”
But after Young’s flurry of shots in the second half, the Bulldogs’ offense got into gear.
Reed and Murphy each hit 3-pointers, and a 3 by Jeffries put MSU back into the lead at 52-51.
A pair of Jeffries free throws with 7:32 to play gave the Bulldogs the advantage for good.
MSU scored the next six points to gain a much-needed cushion, as its defense finally figured the Tigers out. Jackson State scored only six points in the final eight minutes.
Still, JSU snapped the Bulldogs’ streak of holding every opponent to 55 or fewer points.
“It was the first time all year long we had to make major changes in how we defend,” Jans said.
But MSU came out on top anyway, remaining one of seven Division I teams who have yet to lose.
The Bulldogs will host Nicholls State at 2 p.m. Saturday in their second-to-last nonconference game before Southeastern Conference play starts Dec. 28 against Alabama at Humphrey Coliseum.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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