STARKVILLE — Fans of the No. 18 Mississippi State University men’s basketball program are getting used to Wednesday night’s script.
In what has been a repeated set of circumstances in a home games in which it is favored, MSU survived an early and late charge to hang on for a 76-71 victory against LSU.
“We didn’t have our edge tonight, and that’s what you have to do in this league is find a way to survive when you’re not at your best,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said.
MSU (17-4, 4-2) once again made the crowd of 8,681 at Humphrey Coliseum sweat a win in the final possession against a team that has lost all four Southeastern Conference road games it has played this season.
LSU (12-8, 2-4) hit four 3-pointers in the final 69 seconds, including three by guard Anthony Hickey to close to one point.
After MSU guard Rodney Hood hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to 74-71 with 13 seconds remaining, Stansbury called his final timeout and instructed his team to foul once LSU brought the ball past the half-court line.
MSU senior point guard Dee Bost and junior forward Arnett Moultrie had a better idea. The duo that combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds trapped Hickey and forced a tipped pass by Bost that led to an open-court foul that sealed the Bulldogs’ 11th-straight home victory.
“I kept thinking, ‘They’re not going to get another lucky 3-pointer’, ” Moultrie said.
Moultrie hit two free throws in a chaotic situation that involved LSU coach Trent Johnson getting a technical foul with three seconds left. That allowed the 6-foot-11 Wooden Award finalist to finish with a career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds for his SEC-leading 12th double-double of the season. MSU is 8-0 when Moultrie scores more than 20 points in a game.
“I really felt good during the shootaround,” Moultrie said. “When that happens I know I’m going to have a good game.”
MSU coaches thought LSU’s frontcourt could give the Bulldogs trouble, but Moultrie, a transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso, used his athletic ability to create shots.
“I think my quickness was a problem for them,” Moultrie said. “They had me boxed out, but my quickness allowed me to still get to the boards.”
The Tigers ran 7-footer Justin Hamilton and the large bodies of senior Storm Warren and freshman Johnny O’Bryant at Moultrie, but none of them stopped Moultrie from dominating the backboard for putbacks, tip-ins, and dunks in the lane.
Thanks to Moultrie’s effort on the glass, MSU outrebounded one of the best in the SEC in that category 46-26. The last time the margin was that much in MSU’s favor was a 70-64 victory at Houston on Dec. 19, 2010, when the Bulldogs took home a 51-31 advantage. LSU fell to 2-6 this season in games it has been outrebounded.
“The game was decided on the boards,” Johnson said. “There was a reason for that. You can’t be as aggressive as you want. I just want a clarification (from the officials) so I can help my kids.”
LSU led for all but two minutes in the first half as MSU tried to overcome a sluggish start following a big win Saturday at Vanderbilt and not look ahead to a big road matchup this weekend at the No. 14 University of Florida. Only an open-court steal and layup by Moultrie at the buzzer helped get the crowd on its feet and helped MSU lead 32-31 at halftime.
“Moultrie is special, (and) we knew that going in,” Johnson said. “They got a little timid and a lot of guys lost their aggressiveness and got a little timid.”
After a season-high 15 points at Vanderbilt, sophomore guard Jalen Steele matched that effort by hitting 4 of 6 from the field in 19 minutes. The back-to-back double figure scoring outputs were his first of the season since a stretch of four in a row from Nov. 27-Dec. 13.
“He has been feeling it,” Stansbury said. “In these last couple of practices we saw a different Jalen. He gives you a great effort every night, and I have complete confidence in him.”
For only the second time this season, LSU sophomore guard Andre Stringer came off the bench. He relished the opportunity by leading the Tigers with 17 points. The Center Hill High School standout from Jackson scored eight straight points to cut an 11-point deficit to 49-46 with 11 minutes to play.
“We made some mistakes here and there, but it is a game of runs,” Stringer said. “We did our best to try and fight back.”
MSU will tip off against Florida at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
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