Epps, Hubbard combine for 36 points to lead Mississippi State past Memphis, 71-66

Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans was hoping for some momentum and a nice Christmas present on Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. His Bulldog squad delivered just that with a 71-6 victory over Memphis to close out the pre-Christmas schedule.

Jayden Epps had 19 points and Josh Hubbard added 17 points to help Mississippi State improve to 7-5 on the season. Memphis fell to 4-7 on the season and dropped its third straight game.

Much like previous close wins over Utah and Long Island, the Bulldogs made the clutch plays down the stretch on offense to secure a much-needed win.

“We’ve talked often about it and I said I anticipated us being in (close) situations a lot,” Jans remarked. “We didn’t do great in the first handful of (close games) that we had but we learned and we grew with this group. They’re understanding how valuable possessions are as the clock dissipates before the final buzzer.

“It is hard to play against that group with their length and their athleticism. Tonight they switched up their press and we gave them some confidence when we turned it over. But it was a mixed bag of results.”

Achor Achor had eight points and five boards for the Bulldog in 10 minutes off the bench. Quincy Ballard led State with eight rebounds, including seven in the first half. Curtis Givens led Memphis with 18 points while Aaron Bradshaw and Ashton Hardaway also finished in double digits with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Epps was 7 of 12 from the floor and made 4 of 9 from 3 point territory. The former Georgetown transfer has averaged 20 points in his last four games for State, who have now won three straight heading into the Christmas break.

“It gives us a lot (of confidence),” said Epps afterwards. “We have struggled with that at times. I definitely feel like we are making strides and we are getting better at that like we showed today. We got the win and we’ve been showing strides of taking better care of the ball, especially down the stretch. Coach has emphasized that a lot and I feel like we’re getting better at that.”

State led for most of the second half until a Givens’ 3 pointer with 9:16 remaining gave Memphis its first lead of the game at 53-50. A Hubbard baseline jumper put State back on top at 59-58, with 3:41 left and the Bulldogs never trailed again. Shawn Jones, who had nine points and four assists, had two key buckets in the closing minutes and Hubbard iced the win by making two free throws with 15.3 seconds left.

“It’s basketball,” Jones stated. “Some days you are going to make them, some days you are going to miss them. As long as you show up at the right time and give it to them, that’s all that matters. We took away some things they do well, executed at a high level and it won us the game.”

For the game, State shot 44% from the floor and made just 6 of 21 from 3 point territory, The Bulldogs were 17 of 25 at the charity stripe and had 15 turnovers. Memphis shot 37% from the field and made 9 of 31 from the 3 point arc. The Tigers were 11 of 16 at the foul line, had 18 turnovers and outrebounded State, 43-35, including 17 offensive boards that led to 22 second-chance points for the Tigers.

State jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the opening minutes thanks to back-to-back 3 pointers from Epps. The Bulldogs built the lead to as many as 10 points later in the half before Memphis cut the lead to 26-23. State would push the lead out to 34-27 until Sincere Parker banked in a half-court shot to end the end, giving State a 34-30 lead at the break.

“We got off to a great start and got the scout into the game,” Jans added. “That’s two straight games now where we’ve gotten off to a great start, especially on the defensive end. We were assignment correct, got our personnel scout into the game. Then it changed with that long 3 they made. That’s on us. We went to early (on our last shot) and that is not what we wanted to do.”

State shot 39% in the opening half and made 4 of 11 beyond the 3 point arc. The Bulldogs were 8 of 12 at the line, had eight first-half turnovers and outrebounded Memphis, 22-21. Memphis shot 34% in the first half and made 4 of 18 from 3 point range. The Tigers were 4 of 7 at the line and also had eight turnovers.

Up Next

Mississippi State closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Monday, December 29th, against Alabama State. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum. Alabama State is 3-8 overall heading into Monday’s road matchup at Memphis. Mississippi State opens the SEC slate on January 3rd at Texas.