Mississippi State men’s basketball erases 15-point deficit, but falls to LSU 69-65

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team erased a 15-point halftime deficit, but the Bulldogs ultimately fell to LSU 69-65 Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs (14-10, 5-6 SEC) were led by junior guard Iverson Molinar with a game-high 26 points, while redshirt junior forward Tolu Smith had 15 points and seven rebounds and graduate forward Garrison Brooks finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

MSU shot 21-for-53 (39.6%) from the floor and 3-for-17 (17.6%) on 3-pointers. LSU (17-7, 6-6 SEC) shot 22-for-53 (41.5%) from the floor and 7-for-25 (28%) on 3s.

Sophomore forward Tari Eason scored 23 points for LSU, while senior guard Xavier Pinson scored 12 points and senior forward Darius Days finished with 10.

With the score being 37-22 after one half of play, Molinar scored 10 points in a 21-6 run to make it a 43-43 ballgame with 11:41 left. Sophomore guard Shakeel Moore’s 3-pointer then gave MSU a 48-45 lead with 9:18 left.

The Tigers responded with a layup and two free throws to regain the lead before a 3-pointer by Eason gave LSU a 52-48 lead with 7:22 left. After a layup by Smith in the paint, LSU scored the next seven points to take a 59-50 lead.

LSU held a two-possession lead the rest of the way as MSU fell by the final score of 69-65.

The Bulldogs will stay on the road and take on Alabama on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.