Molinar, Moore lead Mississippi State past Detroit Mercy 77-64

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Junior guard Iverson Molinar and sophomore guard Shakeel Moore scored 19 points apiece as the Mississippi State men’s basketball team defeated Detroit Mercy 77-64 on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 3-0, while the Titans fall to 0-3.

Thirteen of Molinar’s 19 points came in the first half, while 16 of Moore’s 19 points came in the second half. MSU also got 10 points and five rebounds from junior forward D.J. Jeffries and eight points and seven rebounds from graduate forward Garrison Brooks.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot 29-for-49 (59.2%) and 8-for-16 (50%) on 3-pointers. MSU’s defense held the Titans to 24-for-55 shooting (43.6%) and 9-for-22 (40.9%) on triples. MSU also outscored Detroit Mercy 16-2 in fast-break points and 36-22 in the paint.

Senior guard Antoine Davis led the Titans with 16 points, while senior forward Prince Oduro added 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting and seven rebounds. Graduate guard Kevin McAdoo posted 13 points.

The teams traded baskets through the midway point of the first half, with MSU leading 23-20 with 9:19 left in the first stanza. The Bulldogs then went on a 15-3 run to go up by 15 points at 38-23 with 4:36 left.

The Titans outscored the Bulldogs 8-1 to close out the half to make it a 39-31 game at the halftime break.

MSU grew its lead to 12 points early in the second half when Moore’s layup made it 48-36 with 15:45 to play, but Detroit Mercy managed to cut the MSU lead down to as little as four points at 52-48 with 11:29 left to play.

Then with the score 58-53, MSU went on a 12-2 run that pushed the lead back to 15 at 70-55 with 4:22 to play. The Bulldogs held a double-digit lead the rest of the way, going on to win 77-64.

The Bulldogs will return to action Sunday when they close out their four-game homestand at 2 p.m. CT against Morehead State.