Josh Hubbard scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and Mississippi State overcame a slow start offensively to beat No. 8 Auburn 64-58 on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Starkville, Miss.
Cameron Matthews had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Shaklee Moore added 12 points for the Bulldogs (14-6, 3-4 SEC).
Johni Broome scored 14 points and Jaylin Williams added 10 to lead the Tigers (16-4, 5-2), who lost their second straight game after an 11-game winning streak.
Missisippi State shot 43.9 percent from the field, while Auburn made just 33.9 percent.
Hubbard’s layup started the second-half scoring and broke a 21-all tie. The score was tied twice more before Hubbard made a 3-pointer to start an 8-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 33-27 lead.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Denver Jones and Aden Hollway pulled the Tigers even at 33 before Hubbard broke the tie by making a 3-pointer.
Shawn Jones’ Jr.’s dunk gave Mississippi State more second-half points in 9:27 than it had the entire first half, and Shakeel Moore’s layup created a 45-40 lead.
Auburn scored the next six points to take a one-point lead before the Bulldogs scored five straight to take a 50-46 lead.
Broome’s three-point play cut the lead to one point and the Tigers got within one point again before Hubbard’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 58-54 with 1:37 remaining. MSU finished by making six free throws in the final 1:06.
The scored was tied three times and the lead changed hands three times before consecutive baskets by Moore and Matthews gave MSU a 15-10 lead.
Holloway and Chaney Johnson scored four points each to help Auburn pulled even at 21.
The score stayed that way until halftime as neither team scored during the final 2:44 of the half.
The low-scoring half was the result of poor shooting by both teams. The Bulldogs shot 32.3 percent from the floor and made 1 of 12 3-pointers, and the Tigers shot 28 percent from the floor and made 2 of 10 3-pointers. Auburn did make 5 of 6 free throws while MSU missed all four of its foul shots.
The Bulldogs shot 57.7 percent from the floor and made 4 of 9 3-pointers in the second half.
–Field Level Media
