Iverson Molinar scored 22 points and D.J. Jeffries added 19 as host Mississippi State cruised to its third straight win with a 84-63 victory over Winthrop in a nonconference game on Tuesday in Jackson, Miss.
Garrison Brooks posted 15 points and Shakeel Moore chipped in 10 for the Bulldogs (9-3), who led by 19 points at halftime and by never fewer than 15 in the second half.
Molinar shot 6 of 10 from the field, with Jeffries going 8 of 12 and Brooks 6 of 10. Moore went 4-for-11 and all four each made a pair of 3-pointers. Molinar also went 8 of 10 at the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs shot 54.7 percent (29-for-53) from the field, including 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from 3-point range. They outrebounded the Eagles 31-22 and converted 13 Eagles’ turnovers into 18 points.
Winthrop (6-6), which has lost two straight games, was led by D.J. Burns, who scored a team-high 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting before fouling out. Kelton Talford added 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
The Eagles, who never led, shot 44.9 percent (22 of 49) from the field, including 25 percent (5 of 20) from 3-point range.
Mississippi State jumped out to a 20-11 following Javian Davis’ layup and never looked back. The Bulldogs led by as many as 22 points in the first half and took a 47-28 lead at halftime.
Jeffries scored 12 points, Moore and Brooks had 10 apiece and Molinar had nine points in the first half, as the foursome’s 41 points were 13 more than Winthrop scored as a team in the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs shot a red-hot 66.7 percent (20 of 30) from the floor and 50 percent (6 of 12) from 3-point range in the opening half.
Winthrop, which was led by Burns’ 12-first half points, shot 10 of 22 (45.5 percent) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (3 of 9) from beyond the arc, and went 5 of 9 from the free-throw line.
–Field Level Media
