Mississippi State Men’s Basketball Falls at Home to Arkansas State

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Roquez Johnson tied his career-high with 20 points for the fourth time, but it wasn’t enough as Arkansas State rallied to beat Mississippi State 69-55 Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.

MSU shot 32.3 percent from the field and did not lead in the final 33 minutes of play.

“This was as a disappointing loss that we have had since we have been here,” MSU coach Rick Ray said. “Our defensive effort was lacking and that is what we have to hang our hat on. We lacked defensive intensity. Our goal is to make the other team shoot contested jump shots and there were way too many uncontested shots.”

Arkansas State (3-4) quickly built a 12-4 lead less than four minutes into the contest. The Bulldogs responded with the game’s next 11 points. Back-to-back baskets by Johnson and a layup by Fallou Ndoye capped the run and placed the Bulldogs on top 15-12.

The lead switched back and forth a couple of times before Sean Gardner extended the Arkansas State lead to 24-21 on a jumper in the lane. The Bulldogs would not lead again, falling down by eight points twice in the half, including 35-27 at the intermission.

Arkansas State extended the lead to 10 points at 41-31 less than three minutes into the second half. The Bulldogs closed within seven points on an I.J. Ready 3-pointer at 51-44 with 8:30 left.

The Bulldogs finished with one field goal in the final 4:19 and could not close the gap.

“We got to find the right mixture of guys who are willing to compete but also will give us a chance to score some points,” Ray said. “We were 3-of-17 from 3-point line and we shouldn’t take that many 3-point shots. We have to make the decision of whether we want to be selfish or are we going to pass up those open shots. Sometimes it better to move the ball and get a better shot.”

For the contest, the Bulldogs hit 21 of 65 shots from the field (32.3 percent), 3 of 17 shots from 3-point range (17.6 percent) and 10 of 12 shots from the foul line (83.3 percent). The Red Wolves hit 24 of 46 shots from the field (52.2 percent), 8 of 19 shots from 3-point range (42.1 percent) and 13 of 24 shots from the foul line (54.2 percent).

Arkansas State held a 39-33 rebounding advantage. The Bulldogs had four assists and nine turnovers, while the Red Wolves had 13 assists and 14 turnovers.

Roquez Johnson led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Ready was next with eight points. Johnson also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Gardner paced Arkansas State with 22 points, while Cameron Golden added 15 points and Nouhoum Bocoum added 13 points.

MSU returns to the road for a Saturday contest in Jackson against South Carolina Upstate in a neutral site showdown. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Mississippi Coliseum.