National Basketball Association
Minnesota 81, Mississippi State 76
When: 2:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 5, 2021
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi
Officials:
# Rob Rorke, # Steven Anderson, # Pat Adams
Attendance:
6965
By Field Level Media
Payton Willis made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to lift Minnesota to an 81-76 win over host Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon in Starkville, Miss.
Willis finished with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting for Minnesota (7-0), which has won its first seven games for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. Jamison Battle finished with 20 points, and Eric Curry and E.J. Stephens tallied 12 points apiece.
Iverson Molinar led all scorers with 26 points for Mississippi State (6-2). Garrison Brooks registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers scored the final five points to secure the win. Willis followed his tiebreaking 3-pointer with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left.
Molinar converted back-to-back three-point plays to help Mississippi State even the score at 76-76 with 41 seconds remaining. He had a layup and a free throw with 1:29 remaining to make it 76-73, and he replicated the effort to tie the game.
The Golden Gophers opened the second half on a 20-12 run to regain a double-digit advantage. Curry drew a foul on Mississippi State's Shakeel Moore and made a pair of free throws to put Minnesota on top 55-44 with 13:35 to go.
A 3-pointer by Willis, followed by a layup by Luke Loewe, increased Minnesota's lead to 60-46 with 12:37 remaining.
The Bulldogs rallied to pull within 70-64 with 5:27 to go. Tolu Smith made a layup off an assist from D.J. Jeffries to slice the deficit to six.
Minnesota led 35-32 at the half.
The Golden Gophers stormed to a 14-0 lead to start the game. Loewe and Willis had five points apiece during the early scoring outburst, and Curry and Battle each made a jump shot.
Mississippi State bounced back with a 20-9 run to narrow the deficit to 23-20 with 6:29 remaining in the first half. Molinar capped the run with a pair of free throws followed by a jump shot on the next possession.
The Golden Gophers pulled ahead 35-29 when Battle drained a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the half. But the Bulldogs pulled within three when Brooks buried a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Mississippi State |
|
Payton Willis 24 |
Scoring |
Iverson Molinar 26 |
|
Payton Willis 7 |
Assists |
Iverson Molinar 6 |
|
Jamison Battle 5 |
Rebounds |
Garrison Brooks 10 |
|
Eric Curry 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Iverson Molinar 6 |
|
Payton Willis 2 |
Steals |
Cameron Matthews 1 |
|
Charlie Daniels 2 |
Blocks |
D.J. Jeffries 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Minnesota
|
81 |
49.2 |
12-29 |
11-13 |
15 |
24 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Mississippi State
|
76 |
43.8 |
9-29 |
11-13 |
12 |
39 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
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