Josh Hubbard scored 23 points, Kanye Clary added 12 and Cameron Matthews grabbed 13 rebounds to boost Mississippi State to an 80-59 victory against visiting Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs (3-0) outscored the Lions 40-22 in the second half, when they limited Southeastern Louisiana to 29.6 percent shooting.
Mississippi State capitalized on Southeastern Louisiana’s 1-for-12 start from the floor coming out of the break and didn’t allow a point over the final 4:17.
The Bulldogs weren’t without their own struggles, though. After showing spurts of energy, including when Shawn Jones Jr. blocked a Lion at one end and was fouled while rising for a dunk at the other, Mississippi State endured a second-half drought of 4:19 without a field goal.
Kam Burton (17 points) and Sam Hines Jr. (14) scored in double figures for the Lions (1-2), while Brody Rowbury grabbed nine boards.
Mississippi State finished with a 41-37 rebounding advantage while committing 11 turnovers to Southeastern Louisiana’s 19.
KeShawn Murphy had 10 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs started the season by scoring at least 95 points in two straight games, a program first. Early inconsistency kept them from coming untracked against the Lions.
Mississippi State led by as many as 11 points in the first half but merely took a 40-37 advantage into the break.
An RJ Melendez transition layup boosted the Bulldogs’ lead to 40-29 with 2:21 remaining in the first half. But the Lions responded by scoring the next eight points, a run bookended by treys from Burton and C.J. Booker.
Hubbard led all scorers with 14 first-half points, including a 3-for-5 effort from long range to stretch his streak of making at least one 3-pointer to 16 games.
Burton was even hotter from deep, swishing 4 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc for his 12 first-half points.
Southeastern Louisiana fell to 0-2 on its 10-game road trip.
–Field Level Media
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