Mississippi State easily downs West Georgia in season opener
Guards led the way as Josh Hubbard scored 26 points and Claudell Harris Jr. poured in 20 and Mississippi State pulled away for a season-opening 95-60 victory over West Georgia on Monday night in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs shot 55 percent from the field and knocked down almost half of their 3-point attempts (14 of 30). The Wolves, making their debut as a Division I basketball program in the Atlantic Sun Conference, shot 39 percent from the field and 21 percent from long range.
Hubbard led the way with 13 points in the first half and added 13 more in the second half. He finished 6 of 7 from 3-point range, and also had a highlight-reel play with a steal on the defensive end followed by a fast-break, two-handed dunk on the other end to put the Bulldogs up 47-33 with 17:29 left in the game.
Harris scored 18 of his 20 points on 3-pointers as he went 6 of 10 from deep.
West Georgia was led by center Tamaury Releford's 16 points. Forward Kolten Griffin added 13. Forward Shelton Williams-Dryden had a game-high 10 rebounds as the Wolves won the rebounding battle, 35-34, but were largely overmatched.
In the first half, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 22-7 lead. They made four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes, including two by Hubbard and one by Harris.
West Georgia answered with a 14-2 run to pull within 24-21 with five minutes left. But Harris knocked down three 3's in the final 90 seconds as Mississippi State took a 40-29 lead into the locker rooms.
The Bulldogs pulled away with a 13-2 run early in the second half, building a 56-35 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. They outscored the Wolves 55-31 in the second half.
The Bulldogs are now 3-0 in season openers under coach Chris Jans. They host Georgia State on Friday.
West Georgia travels to Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
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