Minneapolis - Tolu Smith scored 20 points as #23 Mississippi State picked up its first road win of the season with a 69-51 victory at Minnesota to remain undefeated.
The 9-0 Bulldogs went back and forth with the Golden Gophers in the first half, but a 10-0 run in the closing minutes, sparked by some key buckets by Shakeel Moore and some free throws by Tolu Smith, gave the Bulldogs an eight-point lead and all the momentum in the 2nd half.
"I thought it was huge," Head Coach Chris Jans said. "We had that run to end the half, and I think that helped our confidence. Helped their vibe in the locker room."
Senior D.J. Jeffries, who had an all-around performance with 10 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, kept the foot on the gas to start the second half. The 6'7" forward kept attacking the basket for some easy dunks and free-throw opportunities to help propel Mississippi State to a 16-point lead.
The main story for the Mississippi State offense, however, was the revelation of Tolu Smith and Shakeel Moore shooting the basketball. Smith entered tonight's matchup shooting just 51.9% from the free throw line but shot 8-9 tonight, while Moore, a 14.3% 3-point shooter, shot 3-4 from deep to help his way to a season-high 17 points.
"I've just been taking my time to knock down the shot," Smith said. "I feel like I was overthinking most of my free throws in the beginning, but I just got to keep practicing the shot. I give a lot of credit to Coach (James) Miller. We've been shooting a lot of free throws."
"It felt really good. It felt amazing, actually," Moore said. "I put so much time and effort and work into that and building that confidence. For it to come out and play a part in tonight's game, it felt real good."
The Bulldogs have built an identity on the defensive side this season and tonight was no different as they continued their streak of holding their opponents to under 55 points as Minnesota shot just 28.8% from the field.
Former UNC Tar Heel Dawson Garcia led the Golden Gophers with 20-points and shot 3-5 from beyond the arc, but the Bulldogs kept the rest of his team in check with no other double-figure scorers.
Mississippi State will be back in the Magnolia State later this week as they'll travel down to the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson on Wednesday to take on the Jackson State Tigers.
