Garrison Brooks scored 18 points and Mississippi State rallied in the final minute to edge Furman 69-66 in a nonconference game Friday night in Starkville, Miss.
Iverson Molinar and D.J. Jeffries each scored 14 points and Shakeel Moore added 12 for the Bulldogs (8-3).
Alex Hunter scored 30 points, Jalen Slawson added 13 and Conley Garrison had 10 to lead the Paladins (7-5).
Cameron Matthews made a steal, leading to Moore’s layup that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good at 67-66 with 49 seconds left.
After Slawson missed a 3-pointer, Molinar made a free throw to push the lead to 68-66 with 21 seconds left.
Garrison missed a 3-pointer, Jeffries made a free throw and Hunter missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Moore made a 3-pointer to give MSU a 39-26 lead early in the second half.
The Paladins pulled within 43-34 on Alex Williams’ 3-pointer, but they couldn’t get any closer for four minutes.
Then Hunter made a 3-pointer as part of a 12-0 run that gave Furman a 48-47 lead midway through the half.
Derek Fountain’s jumper quickly put MSU back on top, but Hunter answered with two 3-pointers that gave the Paladins a 54-50 lead.
The lead grew to six as the Bulldogs went nearly three minutes without a field goal.
Molinar’s 3-pointer ended the field-goal drought and Jeffries added a basket to pull MSU within a point.
Slawson made a basket, but Molinar answered with two free throws that left Furman with a 66-65 lead with 1:16 remaining.
The Paladins took their final lead of the first half at 8-7 on a 3-pointer by Slawson.
Brooks made two 3-pointers and scored 10 points during an 18-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 25-8 lead.
Hunter’s 3-pointer ended Furman’s nearly six-minute scoring drought with 7:37 left in the half.
MSU extended the lead to 29-11 before Hunter scored five points to help the Paladins soon get within nine points.
Brooks made two free throws to conclude the first-half scoring and give the Bulldogs a 35-24 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
