Iverson Molinar scored 18 points to help Mississippi State notch a 63-57 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday night in Southeastern Conference play at College Station, Texas.
D.J. Stewart Jr. added 14 points for the Bulldogs (14-12, 8-9 SEC), who won for the third time in four games.
Emanuel Miller poured in 24 points and collected a season-high 13 rebounds for Texas A&M (8-8, 2-7), which was playing its first game since Jan. 30. The Aggies had all eight of their scheduled February games postponed -- seven due to the program's COVID-19 issues and one due to inclement weather.
Quenton Jackson scored 13 points and Savion Flagg added 12 for Texas A&M.
Abdul Ado rejected five shots for the Bulldogs, who shot 53.1 percent from the floor and connected on 8 of 19 attempts from behind the arc.
The inactivity affected Texas A&M's shooting -- it shot just 31.9 percent from the field and 4 of 25 from 3-point range. But the Aggies were superb with their ball-handling, committing just four turnovers to Mississippi State's 17.
In addition, Texas A&M was 9 of 10 from the free-throw line while Mississippi State was just 3 of 12.
The Bulldogs never led until the contest was nearly 28 minutes old.
Mississippi State trailed 38-31 before exploding with an 18-4 burst, including the last 11.
Deivon Smith's 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their first lead at 44-42 with 12:04 remaining. Stewart made two 3-pointers and Quinten Post add a jumper during the 11-0 spurt that gave Mississippi State a 49-42 advantage with 10:38 left.
Stewart drained a 3-pointer and Tolu Smith slammed home a dunk to push the lead to 56-46 with 7:40 remaining.
Nearly 4 1/2 minutes later, Flagg hit a jumper as Texas A&M moved with 59-55, but the Aggies then missed their final eight field-goal attempts.
Still, Texas A&M was within four when Miller hit two free throws with 1:24 left, but the hosts didn't score again.
The Aggies started strong, and back-to-back baskets by Miller gave Texas A&M an 18-8 lead with 11:31 left in the first half.
Molinar scored the final five points of a 10-0 run as the Bulldogs knotted the score.
Texas A&M led 33-29 at the break. Miller's basket less than two minutes into the second half gave the Aggies the seven-point lead before the Bulldogs took control with their charge.
--Field Level Media
Mississippi State | Texas A&M | |
Iverson Molinar 18 | Scoring | Emanuel Miller 24 |
Deivon Smith 6 | Assists | Andre Gordon 5 |
Deivon Smith 8 | Rebounds | Emanuel Miller 13 |
Iverson Molinar 2 | Free Throws Made | Emanuel Miller 6 |
Tolu Smith 1 | Steals | Savion Flagg 2 |
Abdul Ado 5 | Blocks | Quenton Jackson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Mississippi State | 63 | 53.1 | 8-19 | 3-12 | 18 | 37 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
Texas A&M | 57 | 31.9 | 4-25 | 9-10 | 13 | 32 | 1 | 9 | 5 |