Mississippi State men’s basketball routs short-handed Iowa State 95-56

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Iowa State was without three starters in Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge, and Mississippi State took advantage en route to a 95-56 win at Humphrey Coliseum.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 10-8 (4-5 SEC), while Iowa State falls to 2-9 (0-6 Big 12).

The dynamic duo of sophomore guard Iverson Molinar and redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. Redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith added 16 points and seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 37-for-73 (50.7%), including 8-for-19 (42.1%) from 3-point range. The Cyclones shot 17-for-50 (34.0%) and 4-for-24 (16.7%) on triples.

Iowa State was led by junior guard Rasir Bolton with 18 points to go with seven rebounds. Junior guard Tyler Harris chipped in with 11. The Cyclones were without starters Javan Johnson, Solomon Young and Tre Jackson due to health and safety protocols.

MSU outscored Iowa State 34-8 in points off turnovers, 20-5 in second-chance points, 27-10 in fast-break points and 48-14 in points in the paint.

Iowa State freshman guard Darlinstone Dubar opened the game with a triple before MSU scored the next nine points to go up 9-3 with 15:51 left in the first half.

Stewart knocked down back-to-back 3-pinters to extend the Bulldog lead to 15 points at 28-13 with 8:25 remaining. Molinar then scored in transition on an Iowa State turnover to make it 44-28 at the halftime break.

MSU used a 15-1 second-half run to make it 68-33 with 12:47 left in the game. The Bulldogs cruised from there en route to the 95-56 victory.

The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday when they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to face the Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Tip time is set for 8 p.m. CT.