Josh Hubbard scored a game-high 27 points and dished out eight assists as Mississippi State pulled away from a feisty North Alabama 86-62 in the season opener for both teams on Monday in Starkville, Miss.
Ja’Borri McGhee scored 14 points off the bench, Quincy Ballard chipped in with eight points and grabbed seven rebounds and Shawn Jones Jr. added seven points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (1-0).
Canin Jefferson scored 16 points, Kevin de Kovachich tallied 14 points and Braylon Patton added 11 points for the Lions (0-1).
The Bulldogs used a 23-4 second-half run to rally from a nine-point deficit and break open a tight game. Dellquan Warren hit a 3-pointer to give MSU a 65-55 lead with 8:40 left in the game
North Alabama went on a 10-0 run early in the second half that was punctuated by a de Kovachich three-point play that gave the Lions a 51-42 lead with 16:03 to play. UNA opened the second half with a 14-4 spurt.
But Jones drilled a trey to stop the Lions’ rally as UNA held a 51-45 lead headed into a media timeout. MSU went on an extended rally of its own as it reeled off 15-0 straight points and took a 57-51 lead, the highlight of the scoring binge was a putback dunk by Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
Both teams got off to slow starts but it was the Bulldogs that took a 9-4 lead on a Hubbard 3-pointer just before the first media timeout.
Later, Hubbard’s pass set up Ballard with a two-hand jam and MSU was up 27-18. But Jefferson raced down the floor, used a high screen and drilled a deep trey to cut the MSU lead to 27-21.
After UNA won a challenge, Patton nailed a corner 3-pointer and the Lions trailed 30-29 late in the first half. Another Ballard dunk gave the Bulldogs a 38-37 halftime lead. MSU held a 42-24 advantage on points scored in the paint.
