STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s basketball made it two wins in a row against Long Island on Tuesday, but it wasn’t an easy task by any measure.

The Bulldogs struggled defensively once again, allowing 12 second-chance points and 23 fast-break points. MSU shot 23-30 from the free throw line and held LIU to just 11 free throw trips, but the visitors shot 42.9% from beyond the arc and continually got into the paint when they needed to.

MSU held just a one-point advantage at halftime after leading by as much as nine in the first half. A high-scoring night from Josh Hubbard, who posted a season-high 34, and another 20-point outing from Jayden Epps was enough to keep a slim advantage late as LIU missed six of its last seven shots from the floor.

With a slim two-point advantage, the Bulldogs inbounded to Hubbard, who played a loose pass into space.

Shawn Jones Jr., who was having another slow night, saved the game by snagging the pass away from two LIU defenders, forcing the visitors to foul and send him to the line. Jones sank both free throws to make it a four-point game withs even seconds left, putting the game out of reach and getting the Bulldogs back above .500.

Sergej Macura made another positive cameo off the bench, adding 12 points on 5-6 shooting along with seven rebounds, and Quincy Ballard was two points short of a double-double, with eight points and 10 rebounds.

MSU moves to 6-5 on the year with a test against Memphis waiting on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Tigers will tip off at 3 p.m.