STARKVILLE — D.J. Jeffries missed his share of chances to give Mississippi State a big momentum swing during the second half of Saturday’s game against No. 25 Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum.
With the Bulldogs clinging to a two-point lead and 8:15 to play, the senior forward was whistled for traveling. A minute later, Jeffries missed an open 3-pointer that would have given MSU a five-point lead.
But with the ball in his hands in another clutch situation, Jeffries delivered the afternoon’s biggest moment in a 69-62 Mississippi State win in Starkville.
Jeffries charged down the floor, caught a two-handed outlet pass from Dashawn Davis in stride and threw down a thunderous and-one dunk, prompting a massive roar from a lively crowd at the Hump.
“I don’t know if we win this game if we don’t have that kind of crowd,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said.
The play put MSU up six points with 3:58 to go, and the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) held on from there for a potential Quad 1 victory over the Aggies (21-8, 13-3 SEC) at a critical late-season juncture.
Mississippi State rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit after A&M rattled off a 24-8 run that put the Bulldogs’ chances in jeopardy. What was a six-point MSU lead late in the first half vanished as the home team’s offense stalled; meanwhile, the Aggies couldn’t miss from 3-point range.
Four triples in the first six minutes of the second half put Texas A&M up 44-35 and silenced the crowd. But Mississippi State showed plenty of resilience.
“We’re fighting for our lives,” Smith said. “Our back is against the wall. We’re trying to get to the tournament, so we just had to pick it up a notch.”
MSU responded with a 12-2 run of its own, including an 8-0 spurt capped by a jumper from Davis to put his team back up by one.
A pair of Tolu Smith free throws broke a 49-49 tie with 6:02 to go, and the Bulldogs’ defense continued to crack down. For nearly 13 minutes — from the 14:09 mark of the second half until just 1:18 remained — Texas A&M was held without a made field goal.
But the Aggies cashed in at the line, going 16 of 22 on free throws in the second half. They were within four points in the final minutes, but clutch foul shots by Cameron Matthews, a steal by Shawn Jones Jr. and a charge taken by Smith stopped A&M in its tracks.
“We know if we play defense, then the offense will come,” Jones said. “If you can stop somebody from scoring, you don’t have to worry about going down and scoring every time.”
Mississippi State jumped out to an early 8-3 lead and led by as many as nine points less than seven minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs reached 24 points three seconds after the half’s midway point.
Jans said MSU played “as good of offensive basketball” as he’d seen for the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game.
But MSU scored just six points in the final 9:57 before the break and just five more in roughly six minutes to open the second half.
The Aggies had their biggest margin at nine before a jumper by Davis and a dunk by Smith snapped the streak and led to the Bulldogs’ big run.
Smith led the Bulldogs with 17 points, and guard Shakeel Moore scored 14 before fouling out with 2:13 to play. For Texas A&M, guard Wade Taylor IV led all scorers with 21 points.
Mississippi State will play its final regular-season home game Tuesday, an 8 p.m. tip against South Carolina (10-18, 3-12 SEC).
Smith said he hopes for a big crowd as the Bulldogs hold a senior night ceremony before facing the Gamecocks.
“I hope that everybody comes out in support,” Smith said. “We need everybody, all the fans to come out. My last game at home, so I’d love for everybody to show their face.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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