KeShawn Murphy scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and No. 25 Mississippi State dominated UNLV inside in an 80-58 victory in the Arizona Tip-Off on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Josh Hubbard added 11 points before being sidelined by an apparent ankle injury midway through the second half, and the Bulldogs (6-0) had a 46-29 advantage in rebounds, including 19-4 in offensive rebounds, and a 30-3 edge in second-chance points.
Jailen Bedford scored 13 points, Jalen Hill added 11 and Dedan Thomas Jr. had 10 to lead the Runnin’ Rebels (4-2), who had won three games in a row and were playing their first game away from home this season.
Mississippi State’s bench outscored UNLV’s bench 48-13 and all 14 Bulldogs that played scored. They opened a double-digit lead midway through the first half, led by 13 at halftime and dominated the start of the second half.
On Friday, the Bulldogs will play Butler in the championship game and the Rebels will play Northwestern in the third-place game.
RJ Melendez made two free throws to start the second-half scoring, and Kanye Clary made two 3-pointers while Hubbard hit one during a 17-4 run that enabled the Bulldogs to expand their lead to 62-36.
Brooklyn Hicks and Bedford made consecutive 3-pointers to trim the lead to 20, but the Bulldogs rebuilt the lead to 25 points and coasted the rest of the way.
UNLV scored the first five points of the game and led by six before Claudell Harris Jr. made two triples to tie the score 8-8.
Hubbard’s 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their first lead and Murphy’s 3-pointer started a 7-0 run that pushed it to 22-14.
Hill’s three-point play ended the run, but Mississippi State responded with another 7-0 run and took a 29-17 lead.
The Bulldogs were ahead by as many as 19 before the Rebels scored the final six points to trim the margin to 45-32 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
