The Mississippi State Bulldogs outscored the West Virginia Mountaineers by 11 points in the second half en route to a 13-point victory Saturday night, 75-62.
Mississippi State jumped ahead early, grabbing leads of 10-4, 17-10, and 25-15, but the Mountaineers climbed back into the game late in the first half on a series of baskets by Kevin Jones. Deniz Kilicli scored two layups as the half expired to send the Mountaineers to the locker room with only a two-point deficit. WVU even took a one-point lead early in the second half.
Late in the game, though, Mississippi State began to pull away, crucially hitting all their foul shots down the stretch. Arnett Moultrie led the Bulldogs with 21 points, and Dee Bost added 17.
For the Mountaineers, Jones and Kilicli had 14 points each, and Truck Bryant had 13.
WVU will travel to Kansas State late next week to face the 4-0 Wildcats.
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