Tolu Smith had 12 points with eight rebounds and Mississippi State used a 17-0 second-half run to improve to 7-0 for the first time in five seasons with its 74-54 victory over Omaha on Monday night in Starkville, Miss.
D.J. Jeffries added 10 points as 11 different players scored for the Bulldogs, who shot 43.1 percent while holding Omaha (3-5) to 40.7 percent shooting and scoring 18 points off 18 turnovers.
Mississippi State, which has not allowed an opponent to score more than 55 points in any game this season, last won its first seven contests while going 8-0 in 2017-18.
Frankie Fidler and Tony Osburn scored 10 points apiece for Omaha. The Mavericks trailed 34-24 at halftime, then used a 5-0 run to get within 39-31 early in the second half. However, the visitors then went nearly eight minutes without a point.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, more than took advantage. An old-fashioned three-point play by Smith, Will McNair Jr.’s 3-pointer and back-to-back steals and baskets by Cameron Matthews highlighted the Bulldogs’ stretch of 17 straight points. That led to a 56-31 advantage for the hosts, before Omaha ended its drought on Marquel Sutton’s basket with nine minutes remaining.
The game was roughly 2 1/2 minutes old before the first points were scored, and both teams combined to open 4 of 19 from the field. However, a 10-2 run put Omaha up 15-11 lead with 9:56 remaining in the first half.
But Mississippi State used a 7-0 run to eventually take a lead it would never relinquish.
Jeffries, who handled point guard duties with teammate Dashawn Davis out due to an injury, had five points while Smith and KeShawn Murphy each scored four as the Bulldogs made six of their final seven shots to build that 10-point lead at the break.
Mississippi State shot 48.3 percent through the first 20 minutes and scored nine points off nine first-half Omaha turnovers.
–Field Level Media
