Mississippi State Tops Mizzou Basketball

Starkville, Miss. – The Missouri men’s basketball dropped a 63-52 decision at Mississippi State on Saturday. The Tigers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped, are now 17-6 on the year and 5-5 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs improve to 15-8 and 3-7 versus league foes.

Three Tigers scored in double figures in the contest with graduate student DeAndre Gholston (Gary, Ind.) leading the way with 12 points. Classmate D’Moi Hodge (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) and senior Kobe Brown (Huntsville, Ala.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, while junior Mohamed Diarra (Montreuil, France) registered his third game with double-digit rebounds in the last four contests with 10 boards.

A defensive battle in the first half, the Bulldogs grabbed the early lead in the game by scoring eight of the first nine points. Mizzou trailed by as many as eight in the opening 20 minutes of action before the teams traded late runs. The Tigers used a 9-2 spurt to tie the game at 26 with under four minutes remaining before Mississippi State answered with a 7-0 run of its own as the teams headed into the locker room with the Bulldogs leading by six, 33-27.

The momentum carried over for the hosts to start the second half, using a 12-4 run to pull in front by 14, 45-31. Overall, the Bulldogs outscored the Tigers, 19-5, to end the first half and start the second in building their 14-point advantage. Mizzou responded with 10-straight points thanks to back-to-back triples by Nick Honor (Orlando, Fla.) to pull within four, 45-41, with 10 minutes left in the game. However, the Tigers couldn’t take advantage of the run and would miss four of their next six free-throw attempts, allowing the Bulldogs to regain the momentum and finish off the 11-point victory.

Missouri made 32.0 percent of its field goal attempts, while going just 6-for-23 from 3-point range. Mississippi State, meanwhile, would convert 42.0 percent of its shots.

UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena on Tuesday to host South Carolina. The SEC contest is slated to tip off at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.