National Basketball Association
Mississippi State 72, Florida 69
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 16, 2021
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi
Officials:
# Pat Evans, # James Baker, # Tony Greene
Attendance:
1000
By Field Level Media
Tolu Smith had 27 points and 14 rebounds as Mississippi State held off Florida 72-69 in a Southeastern Conference game on Saturday afternoon in Starkville, Miss.
Smith made 11 of 13 field-goal attempts, Iverson Molinar added 13 points, Abdul Ado had 11 after making all five of his field-goal attempts and D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 11 for the Bulldogs (9-5, 4-2 SEC).
Tyree Appleby scored 20 points, making all 11 of his free throws, Colin Castleton added 16 and Tre Mann scored 14 for the Gators (6-4, 3-3).
The Bulldogs led by 10 in the final minute before Mann made a jumper, a layup and converted a three-point play that cut the lead to three with 16 seconds left.
After Stewart missed a layup, Mann missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Mississippi State led by three points at the break and scored the first eight points of the second half.
Tolu Smith made a layup, Molinar hit a jumper and Smith made two more layups to give the Bulldogs a 40-29 lead.
Castleton made a layup to provide Florida's first points of the half and two free throws by Appleby later cut the deficit to seven.
Tolu Smith's free throw and a basket by Deivon Smith pushed the lead to 10 before the Gators cut the lead in half with Mann's 3-pointer and Appleby's jumper.
Three points each by Tolu Smith and Ado pushed the lead to 55-45 nearly midway through the half.
Castleton's layup pulled Florida within 56-52 with eight minutes remaining.
Mississippi State increased the lead to 65-56 as the Gators went more than 6 1/2 minutes without making a field goal.
Anthony Duruji finally ended Florida's field-goal drought by making a jumper but that merely cut the deficit to 69-60 with 1:15 remaining.
The score was tied three times before Appleby gave the Gators the lead and Omar Payne added a dunk for a 13-10 advantage.
Consecutive baskets by Stewart, Molinar and Ado gave the Bulldogs a 22-17 lead.
The score was tied twice more before jumpers by Molinar and Johnson, the latter with six seconds left, gave Mississippi State a 32-29 halftime lead.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida |
|
Mississippi State |
|
Tyree Appleby 20 |
Scoring |
Tolu Smith 27 |
|
Tre Mann 6 |
Assists |
Deivon Smith 4 |
|
Colin Castleton 7 |
Rebounds |
Tolu Smith 14 |
|
Tyree Appleby 11 |
Free Throws Made |
Tolu Smith 5 |
|
Tre Mann 3 |
Steals |
Jalen Johnson 2 |
|
Colin Castleton 6 |
Blocks |
Abdul Ado 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Florida
|
69 |
41.0 |
5-19 |
14-16 |
11 |
22 |
7 |
5 |
11 |
| Mississippi State
|
72 |
48.3 |
1-8 |
13-24 |
14 |
43 |
6 |
6 |
15 |
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