The Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team fell short on the road against Mississippi State, 75-62, in a game where the Dawgs couldn’t hold any long-term momentum.
To start the game, Georgia couldn’t get a shot to fall. With 13:22 left in the first half, Jabri Abdur-Rahim drained a three-pointer, making the score 8-6 in favor of Mississippi State. This was the Bulldogs first basket since Noah Thomasson’s three-pointer just two minutes into the game. With 9:43 left in the first half, Blue Cain sank the Bulldogs’ first shot inside the arc, cutting the deficit to six. Mississippi State extended their lead to 11 with 6:16 left before the break, but Noah Thomasson drilled another three-point basket a minute later to shorten State’s lead to eight and slow their momentum.
Out of nowhere, Mississippi State’s freshman guard Josh Hubbard nailed two quick three-pointers, extending their lead to 14 with 2:18 left before the half. Thomasson was able to match them with two quick threes of his own, getting the lead back within reach.
Thomasson led the team in scoring with 12 points, shooting 4-7 from deep. Georgia lived off the three ball in the first half, scoring 21 of their 28 points from behind the arc.
In the first minutes of the second half, Georgia’s Russel Tchewa converted two free throw attempts to cut State’s lead to four. Georgia was able to stay within a few possessions, but State scored eight points in a hurry and lead 56-43 with 9:29 remaining.
As the Dawgs have done all season, they kept fighting and stayed within reach of the lead. With 6:21 to go, Blue Cain converted a second-chance layup to cap off a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs, cutting the deficit to three points.
State was able to respond with an 8-0 run of their own, which all but sealed any hopes of a Georgia comeback. RJ Melendez made a three-pointer with 2:54 to make the score 66-60, but the late effort was not enough to change the outcome.
Noah Thomasson led the Bulldogs in scoring with 20 points off of six three-pointers. Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith III had a successful night, scoring 19 points with with 12 total rebounds.
Georgia is 1-5 in their last six games and now sits at 4-6 in conference play. The Bulldogs will travel to Arkansas on Saturday to play the Razorbacks (11-11, 2-7 SEC). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 pm on SEC Network.
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