Tolu Smith matched his season high with 22 points and collected eight rebounds to help Mississippi State post a 74-69 victory over Vanderbilt in Southeastern Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Starkville, Miss.
Iverson Molinar added 20 points and three steals for the Bulldogs (17-12, 8-8 SEC), who won for just the fourth time in the past 11 games.
Scotty Pippen Jr. poured in 32 points for Vanderbilt (14-14, 6-10), which lost for the fourth time in the past five games. It was the fourth 30-point effort of the season for Pippen, who has scored at least 20 points in five straight games.
Quentin Millora-Brown added 10 points for the Commodores, who shot 46.2 percent from the field, including 9 of 29 (31 percent) from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs connected on 50 percent of their shots and were 1 of 6 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc.
Pippen missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt with 1:13 left and Molinar answered by driving for a hoop to give Mississippi State a 67-63 lead with 56.2 seconds remaining. D.J. Jeffries added two free throws with 41.7 seconds left for a six-point advantage.
The Commodores moved within 71-69 on Jordan Wright’s hoop with 13.6 seconds left. But Molinar hit two free throws with 11.7 seconds to play to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead.
A triple-teamed Pippen had his pass deflected by Smith and caught by Cameron Matthews, who was fouled with 1.4 seconds left and split two free throws to seal it.
Earlier, consecutive baskets by Pippen gave the Commodores a 44-41 lead with 13:47 remaining.
The Bulldogs responded with 11 straight points — including six from Andersson Garcia — to take a 52-44 lead with 10:32 remaining.
The advantage reached 57-46 after Smith split two free throws with 8:41 remaining.
Pippen had 12 first-half points as Vanderbilt led 32-30 at the break. Smith scored 10 for Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs ran off eight straight points to hold a 15-7 lead with 11:09 left in the half. The Commodores tallied 18 of the next 27 points and moved into the lead at 25-24 with 3:53 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers from Terren Frank and Drew Weikert.
Pippen later scored the final five points of the half to give Vanderbilt the two-point edge at the break.
–Field Level Media
