MSU men’s hoops lose road opportunity at Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (MSU Athletics) – In a hard-fought battle, Mississippi State ultimately came up short on the road at Arkansas on Saturday night, falling to the Razorbacks 63-55.

The Bulldogs rallied from a late, nine-point deficit to only trail by a point in the final moments. However, the Razorbacks closed out the game on a 10-3 run to account for the final margin.

Both teams struggled to find consistent offense. The contest was a low-scoring affair, featuring a 25-all tie at the half. Arkansas ended the game shooting just 38 percent as a team, while the Bulldogs made 35 percent of their shots.

Still, three State players reached double figures. Iverson Molinar paced the Bulldogs with his 19-point effort. Garrison Brooks scored 12 and brought down 11 rebounds to notch a double-double.

Tolu Smith started and played for the first time since sustaining a knee injury two weeks ago. He finished with 11 points and six boards in his return to action.

Molinar, Brooks and Smith were central figures as MSU tried to capture victory down the stretch. The trio accounted for all of State’s final 17 points.

A Brooks dunk got the Bulldogs to within one at 53-52 with 2:07 left. Then after an Arkansas 3-pointer gave the Razorbacks a four-point edge, Smith was fouled and hit a pair of free throws on the opposite end of the floor to put State back within two with 1:29 to go.

MSU would get no closer though. The Razorbacks scored seven unanswered points to put the game out of reach.