Josh Hubbard scored 24 points and No. 9 seed Mississippi State defeated No. 8 seed LSU 70-60 in the second round of the SEC tournament on Thursday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.
Dashawn Davis added 12 points, Tolu Smith III had 13 rebounds and eight points and D.J. Jeffries had 11 rebounds and eight points. The Bulldogs (20-12) ended a four-game losing streak and advanced to face No. 1 seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals Friday.
Trae Hannibal scored 18 and Hunter Dean added 10 to lead the Tigers (17-15), who led by seven at halftime but got outscored 48-31 in the second half.
Cameron Matthews converted a three-point play and Davis made a 3-pointer to start the second-half scoring and pull the Bulldogs within 29-28.
The Tigers scored the next five points, but Smith scored the final four points of an 8-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 36-34 lead. Hannibal’s jumper tied the score, but LSU didn’t make another field goal for nearly six minutes.
Shakeel Moore’s 3-pointer expanded the lead to nine points before Hannibal’s basket ended the field-goal drought. Mike Williams III added a 3-pointer and Hannibal made another layup to get the Tigers within 53-52.
Davis and Hubbard each made a 3-pointer as the Bulldogs increased the lead to eight with 2:36 left and weren’t threatened again.
Will Baker’s 3-pointer was the only field goal either team made during the first 3 1/2 minutes and it gave LSU a 3-2 lead.
Mississippi State heated up as Davis and Jeffries each made a field goal and Hubbard added a 3-point in a span of less than two minutes, giving the Bulldogs a 9-5 lead.
The Tigers pulled within one before Murphy and Moore made back-to-back layups to push the lead to 13-8. Hannibal’s layup and Tyrell Ward’s 3-pointer pulled LSU even at 13.
Davis’ jumper broke the tie before Jordan Wright and Ward made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 19-15 lead.
Jeffries answered with a layup, but that would be Mississippi State’s only field goal in the final 9:52. Hubbard’s five free throws were the Bulldogs’ only points during a 10-5 run that gave LSU a 29-22 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
