The Mississippi State men’s basketball team is not sitting as comfortably as it once was in NCAA Tournament discussions after dropping three straight games with the latest loss coming in a 75-69 battle at Texas A&M.
A major comeback effort by the Bulldogs (19-11, 8-9 SEC) in the second half after digging themselves into a hole ultimately proved insufficient as the Aggies (17-13, 8-9 SEC) held on to defend home court and boost their big dance resume.
Mississippi State started off slow, not scoring a bucket in the first five minutes of action, but was able to hold Texas A&M to just seven points in that frame. Dashawn Davis hit a pair of triples to get the Bulldogs on the board and end the offensive inertia, but his team continued to play from behind.
Once Mississippi State started to find a rhythm and cut the deficit to four points, Texas A&M guard Manny Obaseki took matters into his own hands, scoring nine of his team’s next 11 points to post a 21-11 lead with 10:36 left in the half.
Three Hubbard triples and a couple of buckets from Bulldog teammates sprinkled in the mix later, Mississippi State found itself in a tie ball game with 5:19 remaining until the midway break. The Bulldogs’ momentum quickly fizzled, though, and the Aggies, led by an offensive explosion from Solomon Washington, closed out the half on a 19-6 run to lead 45-32 at the intermission.
Things began to slip away from Chris Jans’ crew early in the second half with Texas A&M scoring the first 10 points to hold a 23-point advantage with just under 17 minutes left of play. Jans then found a spark from his team when Hubbard kickstarted a run with a three-pointer followed by a pair of triples from Davis.
While Mississippi State began to heat up, the perfect storm brewed for the Bulldogs as the Aggies were only able to land one bucket in five minutes. What was once a steep hill to climb became a 59-54 ballgame with 8:37 left and Mississippi State had all the momentum. Tolu Smith, who was scoreless in the first half, came to life, giving his team six points in the scoring run.
Texas A&M, however, absorbed all the blows and was able to bend but not break. After falling flat from behind the arc in the second half, the Aggies attacked the basket and took advantage of a foul disparity between the two teams to land at the free throw line for free buckets to hold on for dear life to what was once a comfortable lead.
The Bulldogs continued to fight and chip away all while keeping pressure on Aggie standout Wade Taylor despite being in foul trouble. A big dunk from Cam Matthews put Mississippi State within three points on the scoreboard with 1:35 left in the game.
On the subsequent possession, the Bulldogs did one thing they could not afford to do — surrender an offensive rebound. Taylor was unsuccessful on a three-point shot but got the ball right back after Washington grabbed the board, setting up a jumper that essentially put the game out of reach.
An avalanche of scoring for Mississippi State hit a bit of a wall down the stretch. Hubbard, who had helped get his team back into the contest, missed all seven shot attempts from behind the arc in the last six minutes, allowing the Aggies to secure the hard-fought win.
Despite going cold in the final moments of Tuesday’s game, Hubbard led Mississippi State in scoring with 24 points. The freshman made nine of 23 shots and was five of 18 from the three-point line. Davis scored 15 points and Matthews had 12. The rest of the team scored a combined 18 points. D.J. Jeffries hauled in an impressive 12 rebounds.
Obaseki led the committee of Aggie scorers with 17 points. Three other Texas A&M players reached double-figures on the scoreboard — Washington with 15, Tyrece Radford with 14, and Taylor with 13. The rest of the team scored a combined 16 points.
The biggest difference in the midweek showdown was seen at the charity stripe. Texas A&M scored 15 points from free throws compared to four from its SEC counterpart.
Mississippi State will return to Humphrey Coliseum to face No. 17 South Carolina in a game that could likely punch its ticket to the big dance ahead of the SEC Tournament. Tipoff for the contest between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. central.
