Mississippi State men’s basketball drops road contest against South Carolina 66-56

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Mississippi State men’s basketball team struggled offensively at South Carolina on Wednesday, including missing all 14 3-pointers, which led to a 66-56 loss at Colonial Life Arena.

The Bulldogs (16-12, 7-8 SEC) shot just 35.8% for the game and were outrebounded 38-29. Redshirt junior forward Tolu Smith led MSU with 21 points, while junior guard Iverson Molinar added 11. Five of Molinar’s 11 points came from the free-throw line.

For the Gamecocks (17-10, 8-7 SEC), redshirt junior guard Jermaine Couisnard scored 22 points and senior forward Keyshawn Bryant added 14. South Carolina shot 25-for-57 (43.9%), including 6-for-21 (28.6%) on 3s.

MSU never led in the game. The Bulldogs trailed 35-23 at the halftime break after freshman guard Devin Carter dunked it at the buzzer.

The Bulldogs trailed by double figures the entire second half. They used a 7-0 run to make it 43-33 with 14:24 left to play, but the Gamecocks responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to go up 54-35 with 9:39 left.

MSU scored the final six points of the game to end the game’s scoring at 66-56.

The Bulldogs will return to action Saturday when they host Vanderbilt at noon CT on SEC Network.