Mississippi
Balanced scoring leads Mississippi State past Nicholls
about an hour ago
Mississippi State Athletics
Photo: Mississippi State Athletics
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s basketball team enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal at coach Chris Jans’ house on Thursday and celebrated again on Friday afternoon following a 74-61 victory over Nicholls.
The 25th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 6-0 on the year by shooting 42.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Colonels by 19 in front of a season-high crowd of 7,571 inside Humphrey Coliseum.
Jans saw the first 11 players he called upon reach the scoring column in the first 30 minutes of action. Josh Hubbard led the way with 15 points followed by Cameron Matthews with 12 points and Jimmy Bell Jr. with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“I enjoy having balanced scoring,” Jans said. “Certainly, we’re not trying to hold anyone down but at the same time, it just makes it so difficult to prepare against from a defensive scouting perspective. If there’s multiple guys that can have big nights, you’re not relying on one thing over and over to carry you offensively.”
It was the fourth consecutive contest Hubbard has led MSU in scoring with the freshman guard now averaging 16.2 points per game.
Matthews was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field on Friday including four rim-rocking slams that sent the Hump faithful into a frenzy.
“It felt good to have those because whenever we can do that, that means we’re having a little fun around here,” Matthews said.
Bell notched his second double-double of the season, which already matches his previous career total prior to his arrival in Starkville this year.
“I just try to take advantage of these games when I can,” Bell said. “(Nicholls) didn’t have a big out there today so that was our game plan coming into the week and I feel like it worked out for us.”
The Bulldogs also got a boost off the bench with the return of KeShawn Murphy. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound redshirt sophomore hit the floor ahead of schedule and provided six points, two rebounds and two assists in just over 10 minutes in his first action of the season on his 21st birthday.
Nicholls (3-4) shot 38.9 percent for the game and was paced by Jamal West with 17 points and 13 boards.
Up Next
Mississippi State faces its first road test of the season on Tuesday travelling to take on Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. CT on ACC Network.