Recapping MSU’s 55-49 overtime loss to Texas A&M at Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday night.
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• The buzz: MSU was competitive, but it still lost its fifth consecutive game. A 12-point halftime lead disappeared, and the Bulldogs (7-12, 2-5 SEC) couldn’t generate much offense in overtime, where it was outscored 8-2. The Aggies (13-7, 3-4) snapped a four-game losing skid.
• Turning point: MSU led 29-17 at halftime, but A&M used a 16-2 run early in the second half to tie the game at 33-33, and it took a 39-37 lead at the 10:37 mark on Alex Caruso‘s fast-break layup.
• MVP: Freshman center Gavin Ware scored an SEC-high 14 points, shooting 6 of 11 from the field. He had three dunks.
• Texas A&M leaders: Fabyon Harris 17 points (8-13 FGs, 1-4 3FGs); Elston Turner 11 points (5-13 FGs, 1-7 3FGs), 7 turnovers; J’Mychal Reese 10 points (4-9 FGs, 0-3 3FGs, 2-2 FTs).
• MSU leaders: Ware 14 points (6-11 FGs, 2-4 FTs), 4 rebounds; Colin Borchert 10 points (4-9 FGs, 2-5 3FGs), 5 rebounds; Jalen Steele 9 points (3-7 FGs, 2-6 3FGs, 1-2 FTs).
• Key stats: MSU committed 24 turnovers, A&M had 22. … A&M out-rebounded MSU 31-24. … MSU shot 40 percent overall, 33.3 percent (6-18) from 3-point range. … A&M shot 47.2 percent overall, 12.5 percent (2-16) from 3-point range. … The Aggies had 14 fast-break points, State had none.
• Highlight reel: With MSU trailing 47-44 in the waning seconds of regulation, Steele missed a 3-pointer, but Craig Sword got the long rebound and banked in a 3-ball with 5.9 seconds left.
• Quotable: “I don’t know, I guess mentally we ran out of gas, but physically we were good. We just made little mistakes toward the end of the game.” – Steele
• Bottom line: MSU played its best defensive game in a while and shut out Turner, the Aggies’ top scorer this year, in the first half. But the turnovers added up, and there were too many point-blank misses by the bigs in the second half. The Bulldogs couldn’t capture the momentum in OT despite Sword’s heroics.
• Up next: MSU wraps up its three-game homestand Saturday versus LSU (4:30 p.m., FSN).
I've covered Mississippi State athletics for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (djournal.com) since August of 2008. I like sports, but I love writing.
