Mississippi State Basketball: State Stifled by Aggies, 56-55

Mississippi State Basketball: State Stifled by Aggies, 56-55

Mississippi State saw a 13-point second-half lead slip away as Texas A&M escaped Starkville with a low-scoring 56-55 victory. The Bulldogs dropped to 8-5 (3-2 SEC) on the season. Texas A&M goes to 7-4 (2-3 SEC) with the win.

Iverson Molinar again got off to a hot start, and MSU was rolling midway through the first half. Five straight points from freshman Cameron Matthews put Mississippi State up 20-12 with 10:40 left in the opening frame. The Bulldogs’ lead grew to as many as a dozen at 33-21 after Deivon Smith‘s breakaway dunk with just under two minutes to play.

Mississippi State took a 33-23 lead into the locker room and looked poised to win their third-straight. DJ Stewart‘s three on the first possession of the second half extended the lead to 13, the game’s biggest. From that point on, State’s offense struggled. The Bulldogs simply could not get anything going against Texas A&M’s 1-2-2 zone.

After an Abdul Ado basket had Mississippi State up 40-27, the Aggies made their move. A&M responded with a 13-0 run to tie the game at 40. Both teams battled down the stretch, with neither team leading by more than six points in the last ten minutes of the game. MSU held onto a 50-44 advantage after Tolu Smith‘s layup with 5:14 left, causing Buzz Williams to take a timeout.

The momentum had shifted back to Mississippi State, and it looked like the Bulldogs would escape with a win. However, Texas A&M came out of the timeout and scored the game’s next five points, cutting State’s lead to just one.

A&M then went up 56-52 after Andre Gordon connected on a three-pointer, capping off a 7-2 run for the Aggies. However, Mississippi State got its chance to tie the game when Jonathan Aku was called for a flagrant foul battling with Jalen Johnson for a rebound. Johnson hit 1 of 2, cutting A&M’s lead to 56-55.

After a shot clock violation on Texas A&M left Mississippi State 6.1 seconds for one last possession, Deivon Smith’s pass was deflected away out of bounds as time expired. A stunned Bulldogs’ team stood speechless on the court, as the Aggies sprinted into their locker room with wide smiles.

An off-night from DJ Stewart proved to be the difference. Stewart couldn’t find his groove, finishing with only 9 points on 3-14 from the floor to go along with 5 turnovers. Molinar scored a team-high 16 and was the only Bulldog to score in double-digits. Tolu Smith added 8 points and 6 boards.

Emanuel Miller, A&M’s leading scorer coming into the game, finished with only 10 points, and Andre Gordon chipped in 11. Jay Jay Chandler led Texas A&M with 12 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

Mississippi State’s game against Florida this Saturday just became a must-win for MSU following this disappointing loss. The game is set for 3 PM CT at Humphrey Coliseum and will be aired on ESPN2.