Jackson State Tigers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Box Score on Dec 14, 2022

D.J. Jeffries scored 15 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures as No. 17 Mississippi State rallied for a 69-59 victory over Jackson State on Wednesday in Jackson, Miss.

Jeffries shot 5 of 13 from the field, including just 1 of 7 from distance, to go along with five rebounds, while Tolu Smith added 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

Eric Reed Jr. had 13 points that included him going 3 of 7 from 3-point range, while KeShawn Murphy had 10 points by going 3 of 4 from the field and adding three rebounds.

The Bulldogs (10-0) are off to their best start since opening the 2003-04 season 13-0 en route to winning the SEC West Division's regular-season title.

Mississippi State, which allowed a season-high 59 points, trailed by five with 13:51 remaining before closing the game on a 31-16 run.

The Bulldogs shot 23 of 49 (46.9 percent) from the field, including just 8 of 26 (30.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Jackson State (1-9) was led by Coltie Young, who scored a career-high 23 points by going 8 of 13 from the field, including a red-hot 7 of 11 from 3-point range, and grabbing five rebounds. Romelle Mansel finished with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting and had four rebounds for the Tigers, who dropped their third straight game.

The Tigers shot 23 of 50 (46 percent) from the field, including 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) from beyond the arc, as Young made all of Jackson State's 3-pointers.

After trailing 31-26 at halftime, Jackson State opened the second half on a 20-10 run to take a 46-41 lead on Young's 3-pointer with 12:44 remaining.

But Mississippi State countered by delivering a decisive, 13-7 run to take a 54-53 lead it wouldn't relinquish following Jeffries' two free throws with 7:32 to go.

The Bulldogs scored the next six points to stretch their lead to 60-53 with 5:21 remaining.

Mississippi State pushed its lead to 67-56 on Jeffries' dunk with 1:53 to go.

After the Tigers took a 19-11 lead on Keiveon Hunt's jumper with 8:46 left in the first half, the Bulldogs closed the half on a 20-7 run to take a 31-26 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media