Mississippi State overcomes early deficit to knock off SMU

Mississippi State rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the first half for an 84-79 victory over SMU on Friday night in Dallas.KeShawn Murphy led the Bulldogs with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals, although he fouled out with just over two minutes left in the game. RJ Melendez added 15 points and Josh Hubbard finished with 14 as Mississippi State improved to 5-0.SMU (4-2) was led by Kario Oquendo’s 13 points. Boopie Miller, Matt Cross and Samet Yigitoglu all finished with 12 points. Cross had a game-high nine rebounds and Yigitoglu added three blocks.SMU built a 23-10 lead in the first 10-plus minutes. But Mississippi State battled back.The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 7-2 run, tying the game at 40-40 on a layup by Cameron Matthews with 18:32 left. They took their first lead of the night at 45-44 on a layup by Hubbard with 15:40 left. It was a back-and-forth game after that.Mississippi State eventually took control with the game tied 66-66 with just under six minutes left. The Bulldogs grabbed a 71-66 lead with a layup by Matthews and a 3-pointer by Murphy.

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