Tuesday, December 17
Jackson, Miss./Mississippi Coliseum
7:30 PM ET/6:30 P.M. CT
Central Michigan University
5-5,0-0MAC
59
at
83
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Mississippi State
10-1,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
25
34
59
Mississippi St.
32
51
83
Team Stats
CMU
MS
FG%
.345
.493
3FG%
.308
.379
FT%
.917
.286
RB
34
42
TO
11
5
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
No. 25 Mississippi State Rallies for 83-59 Win Over Chippewas
12/17/2024 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jakobi Heady leads Central Michigan with a career-high 18 points and six rebounds; Anthony Pritchard adds 15 points and three 3-pointers; Injured Chippewas play without center Ugnius Jarusevicius.
JACKSON, Miss.—Led by Claudell Harris' 19 points and Michael Nwoko's 18 points, No. 25 Mississippi State opened up a competitive game by scoring the first 14 points of the second half then coasted to an 83-59 men's basketball win over Central Michigan Tuesday evening at the Mississippi Coliseum.
The loss drops Central Michigan to 5-5 overall on the season, while Mississippi State improves to 10-1 on the year. Next up, Central Michigan plays at Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 21 before taking a nine-day break for the holidays.
Harris hit 5-8 3-pointers and Nwoko did the damage inside by converting 8-12 field goals to go along with seven rebounds. Josh Hubbard added 11 points and Cameron Matthews finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists. After being held to 38 percent shooting in the first half, the Bulldogs converted 59.5 percent (22-37) of their second half shots and took advantage of eight second half turnovers by Central Michigan.
Playing without center Ugnius Jarusevicius, Central Michigan was outrebounded 42-34. Due to injuries, Central Michigan played just seven players on the evening. Leading the way was Jakobi Heady, who scored a career-high 18 points to lead Central Michigan. It was his 10th double figure scoring game on the year and he added six rebounds and two 3-pointers. Anthony Pritchard finished with 15 points and three 3-pointers.
After a competitive first half, Mississippi State opened the second half with its 14-0 run. That gave the host Bulldogs a 21-point lead (46-25) with 15:40 to play. In the run, Nwoko scored six points and Harris added five as the Bulldogs opened up the half on a high note. Nwoko started the half with a jumper, Harris hit a layup off after a CMU turnover, Nwoko followed with a layup and then hit two free throws. Nwoko hit a jumper and then Harris hit a 3-pointer for a 19-point lead (44-25) at the 16:29 mark. Keshawn Murphy converted a layup for a 21-point Mississippi State lead with 15:40 to play.
The first half was competitive. CMU opened the game with a 7-1 lead, then Mississippi State scored nine points on three consecutive 3-pointers. Later in the first half, Mississippi State used an 8-0 run to go up 22-10 on a 3-pointer by Claudell Harris and a follow-up layup by Riley Kugel.
The Chippewas charged back to cut the deficit to 24-17, but Harris hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Bulldogs' lead back to 30-17 with 4:38 to play in the first half. But Central Michigan got back into the game with an 8-0 run fueled by 3-pointers by VanderJagt and Vasko and a jumper by Hunter Harding. Mississippi State scored the final basket of the half to take a 32-25 lead into halftime.
Central Michigan started Harding, Heady, VanderJagt, Vasko, and Pritchard. Only seven CMU players saw action.
The matchup marked the third of four straight road games that Central Michigan will play before the holiday.
CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets are also on sale. For more information, click here.
The loss drops Central Michigan to 5-5 overall on the season, while Mississippi State improves to 10-1 on the year. Next up, Central Michigan plays at Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 21 before taking a nine-day break for the holidays.
Harris hit 5-8 3-pointers and Nwoko did the damage inside by converting 8-12 field goals to go along with seven rebounds. Josh Hubbard added 11 points and Cameron Matthews finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists. After being held to 38 percent shooting in the first half, the Bulldogs converted 59.5 percent (22-37) of their second half shots and took advantage of eight second half turnovers by Central Michigan.
Playing without center Ugnius Jarusevicius, Central Michigan was outrebounded 42-34. Due to injuries, Central Michigan played just seven players on the evening. Leading the way was Jakobi Heady, who scored a career-high 18 points to lead Central Michigan. It was his 10th double figure scoring game on the year and he added six rebounds and two 3-pointers. Anthony Pritchard finished with 15 points and three 3-pointers.
After a competitive first half, Mississippi State opened the second half with its 14-0 run. That gave the host Bulldogs a 21-point lead (46-25) with 15:40 to play. In the run, Nwoko scored six points and Harris added five as the Bulldogs opened up the half on a high note. Nwoko started the half with a jumper, Harris hit a layup off after a CMU turnover, Nwoko followed with a layup and then hit two free throws. Nwoko hit a jumper and then Harris hit a 3-pointer for a 19-point lead (44-25) at the 16:29 mark. Keshawn Murphy converted a layup for a 21-point Mississippi State lead with 15:40 to play.
The first half was competitive. CMU opened the game with a 7-1 lead, then Mississippi State scored nine points on three consecutive 3-pointers. Later in the first half, Mississippi State used an 8-0 run to go up 22-10 on a 3-pointer by Claudell Harris and a follow-up layup by Riley Kugel.
The Chippewas charged back to cut the deficit to 24-17, but Harris hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Bulldogs' lead back to 30-17 with 4:38 to play in the first half. But Central Michigan got back into the game with an 8-0 run fueled by 3-pointers by VanderJagt and Vasko and a jumper by Hunter Harding. Mississippi State scored the final basket of the half to take a 32-25 lead into halftime.
Central Michigan started Harding, Heady, VanderJagt, Vasko, and Pritchard. Only seven CMU players saw action.
The matchup marked the third of four straight road games that Central Michigan will play before the holiday.
CMU men's basketball season tickets and single game tickets are on sale. Fans can order season tickets by calling Ticket Central at (989) 774-3045, by ordering on this link, or by stopping by Ticket Central located in the John G. Kulhavi Events Center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets are also on sale. For more information, click here.
—CMU—
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