JACKSON — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team endured a 13-game Southeastern Conference losing streak last season.
This year’s Bulldogs vow a similar free fall isn’t on the horizon.
“This team is not going to get down,” MSU junior guard Fred Thomas said. “There will be no hanging heads after this game. We played great. We competed and stayed in the game because we defended well. If we harp on losses, they will continue. We just have to turn this around. We have to find a way to overcome the losses and get a victory.”
MSU dropped its fifth-straight game Saturday in a 53-51 loss to South Carolina-Upstate before a crowd of 1,102 in the Mississippi Coliseum.
Ty Greene hit a baseline jumper with six seconds left in regulation that helped the Spartans (9-4) snap the Bulldogs’ 12-game winning streak at the Mississippi Coliseum.
“The kids just can’t get disenchanted,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “This was a much different game than the Arkansas State game (a 69-55 home loss Wednesday night). That was disappointing because of the effort. In this game, you had the competitive spirit and defensive effort you need to have. It’s disappointing because the kids did what you asked them to do in practice. They carried that over to the court.
“You won’t see them to be discouraged because the effort you gave is the effort you wanted.”
MSU’s offensive struggles continued. During the losing streak, the Bulldogs have scored 52, 54, 49, 55, and 51 points. Against Upstate, the Bulldogs were 1 of 15 from 3-point range. In the past two games, the Bulldogs have 10 assists.
“That is the way basketball is these days,” Ray said. “It’s a different game now. The line is blurred. There is no such thing as a mid-major. Anybody can be competitive. It’s just a different game.”
Still, the Bulldogs will need more offensive firepower to compete in the Southeastern Conference. Senior Roquez Johnson led the Bulldogs with 15 points. He has 35 of the team’s 106 points in the past two games. Johnson also had nine rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
MSU (5-5) shot 30 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 22-15 at halftime.
“We just didn’t bring it in the first half,” Johnson said. “We should have played like that the whole game. In the first half, we needed the effort from the second half when everybody was on the same page.”
In the second half, the Bulldogs scored six points in 90 seconds to pull within one point. I.J. Ready led the charge with strong play at point guard. Upstate responded with a 7-0 run to build a 31-23 lead.
The Bulldogs kept battling. Johnson took the ball inside on back-to-back possessions, drew fouls, and made the free throws to give MSU a 35-33 lead.
But Greene hit a pair of big shots to push the Spartans back on top by five.
MSU answered and took its final lead, 49-48, on a Trivante Bloodman jumper with 1:53 left.
Green broke a 51-all tie with his shot in the closing seconds. Ready’s off-balance 3-pointer failed to draw iron as time expired.
“We have to have everyone dialed in and on the same page,” Ray said. “We have some flaws which will be hard to fix on the offensive end. That means you have to play better on the defensive end and you always have to play with effort. We saw that in the second half. We didn’t see that in the first half.
“Upstate has a good team. We don’t schedule games as wins or think they will be wins. You have to earn them on the court because everybody can play.”
MSU will play host to Jacksonville at 7 Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
“The disappointment is building up,” Johnson said. “We brought a lot of energy tonight. We just got to correct mistakes.”
n In other MSU basketball news, officials confirmed Saturday freshman guard Maurice Dunlap fractured his right wrist at practice Thursday. Dunlap is expected to return for SEC play.
Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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