Columbia, MO- It took them quite a while, but Mississippi State got their first road win of the season tonight as they beat Missouri for the 2nd time in 3 days.
The Bulldogs got off to a bit of a rocky start, finding themselves down 9-2 in the first 2 minutes. State was able to quickly get back in it, holding Missouri scoreless over the next 4 minutes, and taking an 11-9 lead.
Both teams went back and forth throughout the first half. Junior guard Iverson Molinar was giving the Missouri defense problems with his ability to get in the lane and draw fouls, scoring 9 first half points. Missouri’s Javon Pickett was able to get in lane with ease as well, scoring 10 first half points for the Tigers.
Just like in Friday’s game, sophomore forward Andersson Garcia was able to energize the Bulldogs with a fastbreak dunk. Garcia ignited an 8-2 run for the Bulldogs in the final 2 minutes of the half, giving State a 31-23 lead headed into the break.
Missouri forward Kobe Brown got hot to start the second half scoring 8 points in the first 5 minutes and quickly got the Tigers back in the game.
It was a battle back and forth, and State found themselves down 3 with just under 2 minutes to play. Center Tolu Smith drew a foul and sank a free throw to cut it to 2. With 37 seconds left, Iverson Molinar then drove into the lane and finished a layup to tie the ballgame up at 56 a piece.
Missouri got the ball to junior guard Jarron Coleman to try to tie the game. Coleman would miss a three from the right wing, and Mississippi State guard Shakeel Moore rebounded the ball, and took it coast to coast finishing a tough layup to give State a 58-56 lead. Missouri had one last chance, but Javon Picket would miss a three giving the Bulldogs the win.
"I chose to be aggressive and take it at them," said Moore.
State shot just 37.2% from the field and turned it over 15 times. The Bulldogs did however do a good job getting in the lane, and played smarter defense, getting to the free throw line 24 times, making 17, while Missouri shot just 7-9.
Iverson Molinar led the Bulldogs with 16 points, including shooting 8-10 from the free throw line. Senior forward Garrison Brooks added 11 while hitting 2 three pointers, and Anderrson Garcia had another solid performance off the bench scoring 6 points with 6 rebounds, and grabbing 2 steals.
On top of his game winning shot, Shakeel Moore had a bounce back game after being in quite a shooting slump. The transfer from NC State scored 9 points on 4-8 shooing, and grabbed 7 rebounds with 2 steals. He seems to be really settling into a 6th man role, since moving the switch to the bench against LSU last weekend.
"He's playing for his team and his teammates," said Mississippi State Head Coach Ben Howland.
Javon Pickett and Jarron Coleman led Missouri with 16 and 15 each, and Kobe Brown added 12. Missouri shot 40.7% from the field, an improvement from Friday's game, but State still held them from 5-22 from three point range and forced 13 turnovers.
With the win, Mississippi State moves to 16-11 overall and 7-7 in the SEC, tied for 5th in the conference with 4 other teams. State will have a chance to improve that over their 2 next games, travelling to South Carolina on Wednesday and hosting Vanderbilt on Saturday, both games they should be favored in.
