Shakeel Moore wasn’t going to wait.
As soon as the rebound fell into his hands, the Mississippi State guard took off down the floor with it. With the score tied 56-56 on Sunday at Missouri and less than 15 seconds remaining, he knew the Bulldogs needed a basket.
“I chose to be aggressive and take it at them,” Moore said.
Seeing just one defender ahead, Moore cut toward the center of the court at the opposite foul line then turned back to the left, drawing a foul from Missouri’s Javon Pickett and hoisting up a tough shot as he neared the baseline.
The whistle blew. Moore watched from the left side of the basket as the ball rolled around the right side of the rim before finally dropping in with 10.5 seconds to go.
“It was a relief,” Moore said. “Just to see it go through, it was a big confidence booster.”
Moore’s down season had its bright spot. Mississippi State’s season remained alive.
The Bulldogs (16-11, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) won a true road game for the first time this season, beating Missouri (10-17, 4-10 SEC) by a score of 58-56.
“I just love that our guys stayed mentally tough and found a way to win a very important road game for us and get us to 7-7,” Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, Sunday’s victory keeps Mississippi State alive in the NCAA tournament picture, if only just. Missouri is one of the SEC’s worst teams, but the Bulldogs still beat the Tigers twice in three days and snapped their seven-game road losing streak in the process.
Mississippi State erased a three-point Missouri lead with less than two minutes remaining, tying the game on Iverson Molinar’s layup with 37 seconds to go. After Missouri’s Jarron “Boogie” Coleman missed a go-ahead 3-pointer, Moore seized the rebound and drove coast to coast for the go-ahead shot.
He missed the ensuing free throw, but Pickett took a contested 3-pointer with 4 seconds left. MSU big man Tolu Smith was matched up on the Missouri forward and defended the shot without sending Pickett to the free throw line.
“Tolu did a great job staying in front of Pickett and not fouling him on that 3,” Howland said. “That was huge — not fouling.”
Moore — who else? — collected the rebound off Pickett’s miss and dribbled out the clock. The North Carolina State transfer finished with nine points, his highest scoring output since Jan. 25 at Kentucky.
In the seven games in between, Moore scored five points only once and never exceeded that mark. He did not start any of the past four games as Michigan State transfer Rocket Watts and freshman Cam Carter started alongside Iverson Molinar at guard.
Moore said losing his starting job did not deject him but did motivate him, and he showed it Sunday with a solid game all around. Howland pointed out Moore’s key 3-pointer in the first half, his two steals, his several passes leading teammates to draw fouls and his solid defense.
Oh, yeah, and the winning shot to give Mississippi State its first road victory of the season.
“I’m really happy for Shak,” Howland said.
Moore was one of six Bulldogs to score at least six points in the low-scoring contest. D.J. Jeffries, Tolu Smith and Andersson García each had six, Garrison Brooks had 11, and Molinar led with 16.
Molinar went to his left hand to tie the game in the final minute, banking a layup home off the glass from the left side of the basket.
“I thought Iverson’s drive there to tie the game was a huge play, too,” Howland said.
Missouri had tied the game with 5:13 to play and took the lead with 3:41 left before Mississippi State tied things up and Moore’s layup gave the Bulldogs the win. The Tigers erased a seven-point MSU lead early in the half, going in front with 14:41 to play.
It seemed like Mississippi State was headed for another road loss that would effectively end the Bulldogs’ season.
But this time, Moore and MSU fought back just when they needed to.
Up next, Mississippi State travels to South Carolina at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Gamecocks (16-10, 7-7 SEC) are coming off a 77-75 home win over LSU on Saturday.
And the Bulldogs will be ready to face them after Sunday’s big win.
“The flight home becomes a lot more enjoyable,” Howland said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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 39 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 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion