Kansas State uses the 3 ball to dominate Mississippi State, 98-77
Kansas State made 14 of 30 from 3 point territory and dominated down the stretch to rout Mississippi State, 98-77, on Thursday in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
P.J. Haggerty poured in a season-best 37 points, including a 4 of 7 showing from 3 point range, to lead Kansas State, who improved to 5-0. Nate Johnson added 14 for the Wildcats while Abdi Bashir added 12.
“We weren’t the better team tonight and that’s the bottom line,” head coach Chris Jans said afterwards. “They were better than us. We didn’t plat well enough for long enough spurts. We had our moments. We had our stretches where we looked like we needed to play like. But it wasn’t long enough. Certainly the turnovers in the second half started rearing its ugly head and the game changed very quickly.”
Josh Hubbard paced Mississippi State (2-2) with 23 points, led by an 8 of 9 showing at the foul line. Jayden Epps added a season-high for 18 points for Mississippi State while Quincy Ballard had 10 points.
Mississippi State stayed within striking distance midway through the first half and trialed 69-62 following a pair of Hubbard free throws with 9:24 remaining. But the Wildcats quickly answered with an 11-0 run and were never threatened the rest of the way.
The Bulldogs shot 43% from the field for the game and made 7 of 25 beyond the 3 point arc. State made 18 of 23 at the foul line and had 14 turnovers, and were outscored 17-4 in points off turnovers.
Kansas State shot 51% from the floor and made 10 of 11 at the line. The Wildcats had eight turnovers for the game and out-rebounded Mississippi State, 38-34.
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“It was mixed results at best,” added Jans. “No matter what you think about the (defensive) coverages, it comes back to guarding the ball. If you can’t guard the ball and square the guy up in front you, you don’t give yourself a chance.”
State fell behind early before a 6-0 run put the Bulldogs on top, 9-7, after a Hubbard 3 pointer with 15:27 remaining in the opening half. State held a 20-19 lead until a Andrej Kostic four-point play gave the Wildcats a 23-19 advantage. Kansas State would not trail the rest of the half and led 44-36 at halftime.
In the first half, State shot 42% from the field and made 3 of 13 from 3 point range. The Bulldogs were 7 of 8 at the foul line and has six first-half turnovers. Mississippi State out-rebounded Kansas State 20-18 in the first half but had just three offensive boards.
Kansas State shot 45% in the opening half and made 6 of 15 beyond the arc. The Wildcats were 4 of 5 at the charity stripe and had only two turnovers in the first half.
Up Next
Mississippi State wraps up play in the Hall of Fame Classic on Friday with a 6 p.m. tipoff against New Mexico. The Lobos are 3-2 on the season after Thursday’s 84-72 loss to Nebraska. New Mexico has wins over East Texas A&M, UC Riverside and UT Arlington this season along with losses to Nebraska and New Mexico State.
