JACKSON — D.J. Jeffries has good memories of the Mississippi Coliseum.
It was no different on Tuesday night.
Jeffries, who scored 20 points to lead Olive Branch to a 64-44 win in the MHSAA Class 5A championship against Forest Hill in 2018, scored 19 points as Mississippi State defeated Winthrop 84-63 in the Bulldogs’ final nonconference game.
“D.J. Jeffries had his best game as Bulldog tonight,” Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said. “He was outstanding. He’s continually improved, playing aggressive and has a very high basketball IQ and that is huge for us.
“He’s had some good memories here, and I reminded him of that today.”
Mississippi State started out firing as the Bulldogs went 20 of 30 from the field (66 percent), including 6 of 12 from 3-point range to take a 47-28 lead at halftime.
Jeffries scored 12 points in the first half.
Winthrop came into the matchup averaging 39 percent shooting from 3-point range but was held to 3-for-9 shooting from behind the arc in the first half and 5-for-20 for the game (25 percent).
“I thought we played really well in the first half — 66 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3-point range was outstanding,” Howland said. “They are a 3-point shooting team and we prepared hard to prevent them from shooting from the outside, and we did that tonight.”
The Bulldogs had four players finish with double figures. Iverson Molinar scored a game-high 22 points to lead Mississippi State, while Garrison Brooks added 15 points, and Shakeel Moore chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs.
“Feels good, it shows how talented this team is and how we’ve matured as the year has gone on,” Molinar said. “With SEC play coming up, it feels good to get a win. The sky is the limit for this team.”
The Bulldogs head into a week off with three consecutive wins.
“Winning three straight heading into the break is huge as far as confidence goes,” Howland said. “Now we head into SEC play with some momentum, and hopefully we can keep it.”
Mississippi State (9-3) begins SEC play on Dec. 29 at home against Arkansas at 8 p.m.
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