STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State men’s basketball stayed close for a half Friday night, then watched Memphis run away with a 75-58 exhibition win at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville.
The Bulldogs trailed by only four at the break. Memphis then scored the first 11 points of the second half in a little over four minutes, and Mississippi State never got the margin back under 10 the rest of the night. The visitors stretched the lead to as many as 19.
Outside shooting was the gap. Mississippi State made just 4-of-22 on 3-pointers and shot 41 percent overall, and it went 10-of-27 from the floor after halftime. The Bulldogs did beat Memphis on the glass, 37 rebounds to 32, with 13 of those on the offensive end, and they blocked four shots.
Memphis, by contrast, hit 9 of 20 tries from deep and shot 51 percent for the game. The Tigers also forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 19 fastbreak points, a pace the Bulldogs could not match in the second half.
Guard Josh Hubbard was back in the lineup after missing the NC State exhibition with a head injury, but he was held to 4 points in 23 minutes as he works back into game shape for the season.
Memphis point guard Jayden Reid, a Northwestern transfer, did the most damage with a game-high 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting, 14 of them in the first half. Big man Nemanja Popovic added 12 points for a Tigers team coming off a 13-19 season, their worst in 56 years.
Coach Chris Jans and the Bulldogs have one more week of preseason work before the games start to count. Memphis closes its exhibition slate next Wednesday at Arkansas.
Section: More Starkville MS sports news
Filed under: Starkville MS Sports News
