Mississippi State Basketball: State drops third-straight in loss at No. 18 Tennessee

Mississippi State Basketball: Mississippi State 53, No. 18 Tennessee 56

A low-scoring affair between Mississippi State and No. 18 Tennessee ended in a 56-53 win in favor of the home team Vols. Mississippi State has now dropped its last three games and fell to 9-8 (4-5 SEC) on the season. Tennessee got back into the win column and improved to 11-3 (5-3 SEC).

A sluggish start by Mississippi State allowed Tennessee to jump out to a 7-2 lead at the under-16 timeout. The Bulldogs continued to struggle from the field, and the Vols took advantage to grab a 16-6 lead with 11:35 to go.

Deivon Smith and Quinten Post responded with a 7-0 run between the two to get State back into the game. Jaden Springer’s two free throws with 4:05 broke a 20-20 tie to put Tennessee up going into the under-4 timeout.

MSU trailed 26-23 after a low-scoring first half came to a close. DJ Stewart led State’s offense with 9 first-half points, while Iverson Molinar played sparingly after picking up two early fouls.

A hot start to the second half for Mississippi State included a Molinar corner three and a pair of Stewart free throws, giving Mississippi State its first lead of the game at 28-26. The Bulldogs extended their lead to as many as five over the next few minutes, but Tennessee kept responding.

Yves Pons’s breakaway slam forced a timeout from Ben Howland after State’s lead was cut to 41-40 with 10:36 to play. After MSU went 44-40, John Fulkerson’s layup regained the lead for the Volunteers at 46-44 with 5:52 left.

Both teams battled in the last few minutes, with Tennessee leading by no more than two possessions. Cameron Matthews scored and was fouled on an inbounds play to make it a one-possession game with 42 seconds left.

Matthews couldn’t convert the three-point play, however, keeping the score at 54-51. On the other end, Springer’s contested layup missed, but Tennessee was able to grab the offensive board, forcing State to foul.

Santiago Vescovi hit both free throws with 12 seconds to go, putting Tennessee up 56-51. Molinar made a layup on the other end, but only two seconds remained on the clock. Keon Johnson secured a full-court pass, and State decided not to foul.

Turnovers and missed free throws late cost Mississippi State in what could have been a huge road win. Instead, the Bulldogs fall for the third-straight time in a close 56-53 decision.

Offensive struggles plagued Mississippi State yet again, which saw only two scorers get into double-figures. Iverson Molinar led the way with 16 points, and DJ Stewart finished with 11. MSU shot just 32.7% from the field and turned the ball over 18 times in the loss.

Tennessee was led by Yves Pons, who fouled out late but finished with a team-high 13 points. Jaden Springer added 9 after missing the last two games for the Vols. Tennessee struggled offensively as well, shooting only 37% for the game.

Mississippi State will get a break from the SEC slate on Saturday when Iowa State (2-8, 0-6 Big 12) visits the Humphrey Coliseum as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 PM CT and will be on ESPN2.