Hubbard's historic night leads Mississippi State past Auburn, 91-85

Josh Hubbard has wowed Mississippi State fans numerous times over the past three seasons in Starkville. But Wednesday was a different kind of wowing performance. Way different.

The Bulldog junior swished a school-record 10 three pointers, including nine in the first half, and had a career-high 46 points and a career-best nine rebounds to lead State to a thrilling 91-85 win over Auburn at Humphrey Coliseum.

Hubbard’s point total was the second-highest single game scoring output in school history. It was ust one shy of the single-game school record of former State and NBA great Bailey Howell of 47 points set back in the 60s.

It was State’s second straight win as the Bulldogs improved to 13-13 overall and 5-8 in the SEC. Auburn dropped its fifth straight game and fell to 14-12 overall and 5-8 in the league.

Afterwards, head coach Chris Jans was limitless on what he witnessed said about Hubbard on Wednesday evening at ‘The Hump.

“I have no idea what the stats are (during a game) and I have a lot of people behind me that I need (for that),” noted Jans. “So when I go to the locker room and get handed the stat sheet, (Hubbard’s) got 35? That was my reaction. 35 at the half as clean as it was with the efficiency and the shots he was making, it was a special half.

“For the end and I am not going to lie to you, I was thinking if we waste that half and that performance, it is going to be a shame. But we didn’t. Down seven (points) and i am proud of that group that stayed together. We had a lot of kids in the last four minutes that made huge plays that helped us regain the lead in the end.”

Jayden Epps added 13 points for the Bulldogs and drilled a pair of key 3 pointers in the second half. Shawn Jones also finished in double digits with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.

Overall on the night, Hubbard was 15 of 27 from the field, 10 of 16 from 3 point territory and 6 of 9 at the line despite missing his firs two free-throw attempts. For good measure, he also had three assists, zero turnovers and two steals to go along with his career high in points and turnovers.

“I was trying to not stay too high or too low in the moment,” Hubbard said after the game. “I just took it one possession at a time and let the groove come to me. I couldn’t do it by myself and my teammates set me up with ball screens and things like that. Without them J wouldn’t have that type of performance.”

Overshadowed by Hubbard’s historic night, Auburn’s Keshawn Hall returned to action after missing one game due to suspension and led the Tigers with 29 points. Tahaad Pettiford had 21 for Auburn and Kevin Overton added 15 for the Tigers. Former Mississippi State player KeShawn Murphy had seven points and 11 rebounds for Auburn but was held to just one made field goal.

For the game, State shot 50% from the field and made 16 of 30 beyond the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 13 of 17 from the foul line and only had six turnovers for the game
Thanks to 13 early points from Hubbard, Mississippi State jumped out to a 21-6 lead over Auburn in the opening minutes. Mississippi State went on to hold a double-digit lead in the first half thanks to Hubbard’s 35 point and led, 49-33, at halftime.

Hubbard was 9 of 12 beyond the 3 point arc in the first half and the nine 3 pointers set a school record for 3 pointers in a single game. Overall in that first half, Hubbard was 13 of 18 from the field.

Leading by 16 at halftime0, State didn’t experience as much success in the second half for the most part. Auburn kept chipping away at the lead and eventually took a 64-63 lead after an offensive putback with 8:50 remaining in the game.

After both teams took turns with the lead, Auburn seemed to have control of the game after a quick 7-0 run and an Overton 3 pointer gave the Tigers an 80-73 lead with 3:56 left in regulation. But the Bulldogs were not nearly done.

After a pair of buckets by both Hubbard and Epps, State regained the lead at 85-83 with 44 seconds left and never relinquished the lead. Four free throws by Ja’Borri McGhee in the closing seconds helped seal the deal.

“Coach told us to stay with it and play our game through adversity,” recalled Jones. “We’ve been through this before. He said if we stick together we would pull this out.”

As a team, State shot 58% from the floor and made 11 of 16 from 3 point range, mostly due to Hubbard. The Bulldogs, however, missed both free throw attempts – both by Hubbard surprisingly – and had two turnovers. The Bulldogs also outrebounded Auburn, 18-14, in the opening half.

“Just letting the game come to me,” added Hubbard. “Not really forcing shots or anything like that. When they sent two (guys) at me it created easy buckets when that happens. At the end we just ran good plays.”

State held the Tigers to 39% shooting but the Tigers were 12 of 26 from 3 point range and 25 of 31 at the charity stripe. Auburn had eight turnovers for the game and outrebounded State, 41-34, including 17 offensive boards.

Led by Hall’s 16 first-half points, Auburn shot 42% in the first half and made 5 of 12 from 3 point territory. The Tigers were 10 of 14 at the foul line and had five turnovers.

Obviously, Auburn’s staff was impressed with Hubbard, too, but disappointed with the result.

“(Hubbard) made a bunch of tough ones, and once he sees one or two go in, that’s when he’s unstoppable,” said Auburn head coach Steven Pearl. “Second half, we took the ball out of his hands and did a really good job keeping it out of his hands.

“Late at the very end there, it was the one time we got stood up off our stance. We gapped a pin, which is something you’re never allowed to do. And (Hubbard) makes us pay. The difference in the game is that for 24 minutes, we just didn’t execute anything defensively. For 16, we did an unbelievable job doing all the things we were trying to do with the scout. It was effective. Incredibly, incredibly disappointing.”

Up Next

Mississippi State is back on the road Saturday where they have a 3-3 record inside SEC road games. The Bulldogs will be at South Carolina for a noon tipoff and the game will be televised by the SEC Network. The Gamecocks hung with Florida for a half before losing big on Tuesday and fell to 11-15 overall and 2-11 in the SEC.