Mississippi State rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the first half for an 84-79 victory over SMU on Friday night in Dallas.
KeShawn Murphy led the Bulldogs with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals, although he fouled out with just over two minutes left in the game. RJ Melendez added 15 points and Josh Hubbard finished with 14 as Mississippi State improved to 5-0.
SMU (4-2) was led by Kario Oquendo’s 13 points. Boopie Miller, Matt Cross and Samet Yigitoglu all finished with 12 points. Cross had a game-high nine rebounds and Yigitoglu added three blocks.
SMU built a 23-10 lead in the first 10-plus minutes. But Mississippi State battled back.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 7-2 run, tying the game at 40-40 on a layup by Cameron Matthews with 18:32 left. They took their first lead of the night at 45-44 on a layup by Hubbard with 15:40 left. It was a back-and-forth game after that.
Mississippi State eventually took control with the game tied 66-66 with just under six minutes left. The Bulldogs grabbed a 71-66 lead with a layup by Matthews and a 3-pointer by Murphy.
Mississippi State never surrendered the lead in the final minutes, although SMU stayed within striking distance.
Down the stretch, with the Bulldogs leading by one point, they extended it to 78-75 lead on a dunk by Riley Kugel on the baseline with 42 seconds left. Matthews drove to the lane on the play before dishing it to Kugel.
For the game, SMU shot 51.1 percent from the field compared to Mississippi State’s 41.2 percent. The Bulldogs had the deeper bench, outscoring the Mustangs 54-27. SMU committed almost twice as many turnovers as the Bulldogs (13-7).
Friday marked the first matchup between the programs. SMU will travel to Mississippi State next season.
–Field Level Media
