STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 21 points and Claudell Harris had 17 points and nine rebounds as No. 17 Mississippi State beat South Carolina 85-50 on Saturday in the SEC opener for both teams.
Mississippi State (13-1) opened the game with a 15-2 run and limited South Carolina to 18 points in the first half. That was the lowest point total allowed by the Bulldogs in SEC play under coach Chris Jans. The Bulldogs closed out the first half with a 10-0 outburst and led 43-18 at the break.
Riley Kugel scored 12 points and KeShawn Murphy contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as Mississippi State won its seventh straight game.
Zachary Davis scored 22 points and Collin Murray-Boyles was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting for South Carolina (10-4).
South Carolina shot 29% (16 for 55) and was 2 for 19 from 3-point distance. The Gamecocks had 14 turnovers and shot 16 for 23 from the line.
Mississippi State shot 56% (35 for 62) from the field and outrebounded the Gamecocks 40-32.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks had a rough debut in SEC play and saw their eight-game winning streak snapped. South Carolina opened SEC play last year with nine wins in its first 11 conference games.
Mississippi State: For the first time in his tenure at Mississippi State coach Chris Jans won his SEC opener. The Bulldogs are also off to their best start under Jans.
South Carolina will host Alabama in a top1- matchup Wednesday in its SEC home opener, while Mississippi State is at Vanderbilt on Tuesday for its SEC road opener.
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