Mississippi St. tops Missouri 58-56, now tied for 5th in SEC

Feb 21, 2022, 03:42 am

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- — Iverson Molinar scored 16 points, Shakeel Moore made a layup with 10.5 seconds left and Mississippi State beat Missouri 58-56 Sunday night.

Garrison Brooks added 11 points and seven rebounds for Mississippi State (16-11, 7-7 SEC). Moore finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Molinar made a layup to make it 56 all with 37 seconds left and, after a missed 3-point shot by the Tigers, Moore grabbed a rebound and raced to the other end where he was fouled as he made a layup to make it 58-56. He missed the and-1 free throw and Pickett missed a potential winning 3 with 4 seconds to go.

Brown hit a 3-pointer, Davis followed with a jumper and Brown made a layup to give Missouri the lead at 40-39 about 5 minutes into the second half and spark a 10-0 spurt that made it 44-39 when Javon Pickett made a layup with 12:28 to play. Six different Bulldogs players scored in a 12-4 run the next 6 minutes to give them a two-point lead. Jarron Coleman answered with a layup and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 54-51 advantage with 3:41 remaining but they went 0 for 5 from the field the rest of the way.

The Bulldogs moved into a five-way tie for fifth in conference standings with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Pickett had 16 points, Coleman scored 15 and Kobe Brown had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Missouri (10-17, 4-10 SEC).

Molinar scored seven of his nine first-half points in an 18-6 run over the final 9 minutes of the first half to give Mississippi State a 31-23 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs beat Missouri 68-49 on Friday

Missouri freshman Yaya Keita underwent a surgical procedure Friday on his left knee and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

The Tigers are two games back of 10th-place Vanderbilt, and a first-round bye in next month's SEC Tournament, in the conference standings.

Missouri plays host to No. 16 Tennessee on Tuesday. Mississippi State plays at South Carolina on Wednesday.

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