Mississippi State guard Shakeel Moore has spent plenty of time in the Bulldogs’ practice gym, working on his jumper.
Moore finally saw that work pay off Sunday night.
He snapped a shooting skid with a 7-of-19, 17-point performance at Minnesota, leading MSU to a 69-51 win at Williams Arena in its first official road game of the season.
“We executed, so it felt good to get that first true road win,” Moore said.
The Bulldogs (9-0) remained one of the nation’s seven unbeaten Division I teams, handing the Golden Gophers (4-6) their fifth consecutive loss.
“They were ready to play,” coach Chris Jans said.
Mississippi State still has yet to allow more than 55 points in a game.
And Sunday night, the Bulldogs’ offense was a cut above what it had been in other games against power-conference competition, as MSU shot 47 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3.
Moore — who came in just 4 of 28 from deep this season — finally found his stroke, making 3 of 4 triples for the Bulldogs. Senior forward/center Tolu Smith led the way with 20 points, including an 8-of-9 performance from the free throw line.
Senior forward D.J. Jeffries made major contributions across the board, delivering 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He delivered the highlight play of the night, a one-handed slam over a Minnesota defender in the first half.
“D.J. was hooping,” Smith said. “I ain’t going to lie. He almost had a triple-double. That’s crazy.”
Jeffries’ dunk pulled Mississippi State level after Minnesota erased an 18-12 MSU lead, taking a 22-20 advantage.
After the Gophers’ Braeden Carrington put his team back ahead with a pair of free throws, Moore sank a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Smith made four straight free throws to give Mississippi State an eight-point lead into halftime, and Jeffries hit a pair from the line to make it a double-digit game.
Only once, with 9:05 to play, did Minnesota get within 10 points again.
Moore promptly hit another 3 to stretch the lead back out.
“Really happy for Shak,” Jans said. “Everybody sees him in the gym getting up extra shots.”
If Moore’s jumper is back for good, it will give the Bulldogs yet another weapon as they near the home stretch of nonconference play.
Mississippi State will take on Jackson State (1-8) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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