Smith's double-double helps Mississippi St. beat Lamar 75-60
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- — Tolu Smith scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Mississippi State pulled away early in the second half for a 75-60 victory over Lamar on Thursday night.
It was Smith's 10th career double-double for Mississippi State (6-1), which returned home after an 82-71 overtime win against Richmond at the Bahamas Championship in the third-place game. The Bulldogs host undefeated Minnesota (6-0) on Sunday.
Iverson Molinar scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs. Rocket Watts added 15 points and Garrison Brooks had 10. Molinar and Watts each had three of Bulldogs' seven 3-pointers.
Watts made consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 13-2 run and the Bulldogs led 62-43 with about seven minutes left.
C.J. Roberts scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting to lead Lamar (1-7). Davion Buster made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
The Bulldogs shot 52% (13 of 25) in the first half and built a 38-30 halftime advantage. Lamar pulled to 38-32 on a Roberts jumper to open the second but didn't get closer.
It was the first meeting between the teams.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Terry Wymer
- Brent Hampton
- Owen Shortt
2023-24 Southland Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
McNeese | 17-1 | - | 30-4 |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 14-4 | 3 | 21-12 |
Nicholls | 13-5 | 4 | 20-14 |
Lamar | 12-6 | 5 | 19-14 |
SE Louisiana | 10-8 | 7 | 15-17 |
Northwestern State | 7-11 | 10 | 9-23 |
Texas A&M-Commerce | 6-12 | 11 | 13-20 |
New Orleans | 4-14 | 13 | 10-23 |
Houston Christian | 4-14 | 13 | 6-23 |
Incarnate Word | 3-15 | 14 | 8-23 |
2023-24 Southeastern Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Tennessee | 14-4 | - | 27-9 |
Auburn | 13-5 | 1 | 27-8 |
South Carolina | 13-5 | 1 | 26-8 |
Kentucky | 13-5 | 1 | 23-10 |
Alabama | 13-5 | 1 | 25-12 |
Florida | 11-7 | 3 | 24-12 |
Texas A&M | 9-9 | 5 | 21-15 |
LSU | 9-9 | 5 | 17-16 |
Mississippi State | 8-10 | 6 | 21-14 |
Ole Miss | 7-11 | 7 | 20-12 |
Georgia | 6-12 | 8 | 20-17 |
Arkansas | 6-12 | 8 | 16-17 |
Vanderbilt | 4-14 | 10 | 9-23 |
Missouri | 0-18 | 14 | 8-24 |