No. 25 Mississippi State pulls away from Nicholls, improves to 6-0

Jimmy Bell Jr. produced a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Hubbard scored a team-high 15 as No. 25 Mississippi State remained unbeaten with a 74-61 victory over Nicholls Friday in Starkville, Miss.

Cameron Matthews added 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting for the Bulldogs (6-0), who are 8-0 lifetime against Nicholls (3-4), which came in hoping to earn its second win over an SEC team after beating LSU Nov. 10.

The last two games between the schools were decided by single digits, including last year's 68-66 win by the Bulldogs.

The Colonels weren't able to keep this one as close despite a double-double from Jamal West Jr. (17 points, 13 rebounds) and 10 points from Byron Ireland.

D.J. Jeffries had a hot hand early, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, the second giving the Bulldogs an 11-6 lead at the 15:22 mark.

Micah Thomas hit a jumper with 12:47 to play to halt a 7-0 run, but Hubbard soon responded with a contested 3-pointer in the corner, putting Mississippi State up 16-8 with 12:27 remaining.

Bell gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead at 18-8 with 11:17 left.

Both teams hit a stretch where they went more than three minutes without scoring.

Nicholls ended its drought first as Michael Gray Jr. drove in for a layup and drew a foul. He hit the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play and cut the deficit to 20-16 with 6:04 to go.

Matthews hit a floating jumper less than a minute later to end the Bulldogs' cold spell.

Mississippi State struggled to shoot in the first half but made five of its final six shots, including a dunk by Shakeel Moore in the closing seconds to give the Bulldogs a 36-24 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead past 20 when Matthews threw down a one-hand jam with 7:58 to play for a 60-39 lead.

Mississippi State was up by as much as 70-47 before Nicholls made the final score respectable by scoring 14 of the game's last 18 points.

—Field Level Media