MSU took down No.5 Tennessee

Story from MSU Athletics:
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State took down one of the top men’s basketball teams in the nation with a 77-72 victory over No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday. In their first home Southeastern Conference game of the season, the Bulldogs provided a resounding response following the adversity the team faced in its league opener last Saturday.

“I was glad that we stuck together,” head coach Chris Jans said of Wednesday’s triumph. “We’ve been in this situation before and just used that experience, and we just had some guys step up and they just were determined to win this game and they made some plays.”

The Bulldogs got off to a hot start on both ends of the court thanks in large part to center Tolu Smith III. The graduate student scored 12 hard-fought points in the opening frame in his first start since missing the first few weeks of the season with an injury.

After a back-and-forth contest through the first few minutes, MSU began to build up a lead with some tough points in the paint and big defensive stops, including one forced shot-clock violation that fired up the crowd. Veteran forward DJ Jeffries locked the Volunteers down in the early portion of the game, grabbing four rebounds and four steals before the halftime buzzer.

As a team, State shot exactly 50 percent from the field and had 14 bench points in the first half. The squad also forced Tennessee to commit 10 turnovers through the opening 20 minutes and took a 13-point advantage into the locker room.

The second half proved to be a test for the Dawgs, as the Volunteers came roaring back and quickly cut into the lead. The visiting team inched closer, but each player in the Maroon and White made big contributions to hold steady.

Jeffries explained how he and his teammates were able to stick together and find success.

“I think the main thing we focused on in the huddle was not going too high and not going too low and just staying consistent,” Jeffries said.

Josh Hubbard, who scored 12 points of his own in the first half, continued to be electric from behind the arc. The freshman looked like a seasoned veteran in his first SEC game at home, finishing the night with five 3-pointers and a team-high 25 points.

“It was unbelievable, the environment was crazy,” Hubbard said. “I couldn’t have done it without the team, the team got this win. We all stayed positive through adversity.”

Big buckets from Smith, Hubbard and Shawn Jones Jr. powered MSU through the final minutes of the second half, but UT could not be completely shaken. The Volunteers tied the game up with just 34 seconds left. Yet State held strong.

Smith had been a dominant force in the paint up to that point, scoring buckets and drawing fouls against one of the top defenses in the country. As the seconds trickled down, the 6-foot-11 forward powered his way to the basket, where he drew a foul on a tough layup. He made his free throw with ease to give State a three-point lead with just 14.7 seconds left, and after another strong defensive possession, a fast-break dunk by Cameron Matthews just before time expired sealed the deal.

Following the game, Smith explained just how important the victory was for the program.

“It was a great win for us,” Smith said. “It’s going to be a momentum-shifter for our team going into March.”

Smith recorded 23 points and four rebounds in the win. Matthews had eight points and Jeffries had five steals and six rebounds.

Jans was pleased with how hard his student-athletes fought to pick up their first conference win of the year.

“You never know how the game is going to unfold and how the kids are going to react, but I was proud of their might and their toughness and their strength and how physical they played,” Jans said.

Mississippi State will look to pick up another huge victory as it hosts Alabama at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm CT.