Mississippi State men’s basketball takes on Dayton in Atlanta

ATLANTA — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team will face the Dayton Flyers on Saturday at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. The game is part of the Pit Boss Grills Holiday Hoopsgiving event.

The neutral site game was previously scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, but it has been adjusted to 2 p.m. CT. The contest will air on ESPNU and can be streamed on the ESPN App.

The Bulldogs (3-2) will be looking to extend their three-game winning streak after wins over Texas State, North Texas and Jackson State.

In Tuesday’s 82-59 win over Jackson State, four Bulldogs scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Iverson Molinar matched his career-high by scoring 21 points. He drained a career-best five triples in the game. Redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith added 19 points, including 14 in the second half. He also hauled down a career-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Redshirt sophomore forward Javian Davis scored 11 points, while redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. also added 11 points.

Molinar leads the team with 18.0 points per game on 13-for-21 (61.9%) shooting. Stewart is second with 16.4 points per game, while Smith is averaging 15.0 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds.

Dayton (2-1) has wins over Eastern Illinois and Northern Kentucky. The Flyers’ lone loss was a 66-64 defeat by SMU. Redshirt senior guard Ibi Watson leads Dayton with 19.3 points per game. Redshirt junior forward Chase Johnson is second with 14.7 and senior guard Jalen Crutcher is third with 13.3

Saturday’s matchup is the fourth meeting between the two programs. The Bulldogs have won the previous three outings. The Bulldogs won 56-54 on Dec. 19, 1975, at UD Arena, 61-59 on Dec. 3, 2017, at Humphrey Coliseum and 65-58 on Nov. 30, 2018, at UD Arena.