STARKVILLE – Mississippi State made it six wins in a row on Wednesday night, and two-straight to start SEC play, by taking down Oklahoma 72-53 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 30 points, posting a memorable second half of work to get his team over the line and up to 10-5 on the season.
Sergej Macura sat out after suffering a late injury against Texas on Saturday, which led to extended time for Achor Achor and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
The freshman had a particularly impactful first half, posting four points, five rebounds and two blocks in his role off the bench.
The Bulldogs as a whole were the better team in the first half, but failed to capitalize on strong defensive stretches. The Bulldogs shot just 34% from the floor, and were 0-12 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. Hubbard had 14 points on 6-12 shooting, but he too failed to get going from distance.
The Sooners switched on down the stretch of the first half to go into the locker room tied 27-27, erasing an early eight-point deficit.
The Bulldogs continued to embrace the defensive nature of the game in the second half, and started to work the paint more often as well. Quincy Ballard in particular started to get going on offense, and the effort to drive into the lane was rewarding them. They led 53-43 with eight minutes to play, attempting no shots from beyond the arc through that point in the second half while picking up 14 points in the paint.
Hubbard took over the game with a 12-point run in just three minutes, helping the Bulldogs build an 18-point advantage going into the final minutes. Ja’Borri McGhee iced the game with a triple of his own, assisted by Hubbard.
MSU is back in action on Saturday, taking on Kentucky at Rupp Arena at 7:30 p.m.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
