12/30/2025
Mississippi State 94, Alabama State 56, men’s college basketball final
Achor Achor, Quincy Ballard and King Grace had a dunking good time for the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Monday night thanks to Josh Hubbard.
Hubbard had three nifty assists to Achor, Ballard and Grace for dunks in the first half as MSU built a 49-31 lead and went on to defeat the Alabama State Hornets at Humphrey Coliseum in the final tuneup for Southeastern Conference play.
On a night when he had 22 points to lead the Bulldogs, Hubbard also had a game-high four assists.
“He had a really clean game,” MSU head coach Chris Jans said about Hubbard. “I thought he looked bouncy, fresh and got off to a really good start. Certainly, like most teams, they started doubling him. He made pretty good decisions. I was a little disappointed there when he didn't handle one of the traps. If the coach didn't sub him out, he could have had a big number game, but he will have a lot of opportunities.”
The Bulldogs used a 9-0 run in the first half to help gain their halftime advantage.
Hubbard's assist for dunks went to Achor with 18:45 remaining in the first half, to Ballard at the 8-minute mark for a 32-20 lead and to Grace for the third as the first half was winding down.
The Bulldogs put the game away in the second half by outscoring the Hornets 45-25.
King Grace followed Hubbard in the scoring column for MSU with 14 points, while Achor had 11 points and Ja'borri McGhee added 10 points. Ballard led the Bulldogs with 15 rebounds and just missed a double-double with eight points.
MSU improved its record to 8-5 and will play Texas on Saturday to open the SEC schedule.
