STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half to help No. 24 Mississippi State beat LSU 81-69 on Saturday.
Riley Kugel had 12 points for Mississippi State on 5-for-6 shooting. The Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8 SEC) trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and were down 37-35 at halftime.
Mississippi State reached 20 wins for the third consecutive season under coach Chris Jans.
Cam Carter scored 23 points for LSU (14-15, 3-13), and Damion Collins finished with 10. Derek Fountain had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
Carter went 5 for 10 from 3-point range. The rest of the team went 4 for 26 from deep.
After turning the ball over nine times in the first half, Mississippi State had just two turnovers in the second half. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Tigers 36-31 for the game and had a 40-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Takeaways
LSU: The Tigers shot 39% (25 for 64) from the field, compared to 57% (29 for 51) for the Bulldogs. They surrendered 46 points in the second half of the loss.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs found their form after a slow start.
Key moment
Hubbard’s 3-pointer lifted Mississippi State to a 60-53 lead with about 11 minutes left.
Up next
Mississippi State hosts Texas on Tuesday night. LSU is at Kentucky on Tuesday night.
