Mississippi State Tops Men’s Basketball

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri men’s basketball team dropped its latest game, 51-75, at the hands of Mississippi State in Saturday night’s Southeastern Conference matchup. The visiting Bulldogs used a fast start in the second half to pull away from the Tigers.

Graduate guard Nick Honor led Mizzou (8-16, 0-11 SEC) on the offensive end of the floor, finishing the contest with 15 points, including 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Tamar Bates followed suit with 11 points and six rebounds.

Things started slowly for both offenses, as the first 10 minutes of play only saw a combined eight made baskets. Neither team was able to string a run of more than five points together, and the two squads combined for 10 assists on 17 turnovers.

Towards the latter half of the opening period, Mississippi State (16-8, 5-6 SEC) used three made baskets in a row to stretch its lead to 10, its largest of the game to that point. Then, a pair of Nick Honor threes and a stifling defensive effort over the final two minutes brought the game within four, 30-26, at the half.

MSU used a 20-4 run over the opening 7:40 of the second half, enlarging its lead to 50-30 en route to the 75-51 victory.

Missouri shot 34 percent from the floor and converted 16-of-20 shots from the free-throw line. Mississippi State shot 47.5 percent overall and forced the Tigers into 20 turnovers.

UP NEXT
The Tigers take the week off before heading to Oxford, Mississippi to take on Ole Miss next Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m. inside The Sandy and John Black Pavilion and will be broadcast on SEC Network.