STARKVILLE, Miss. — Josh Hubbard achieved an unprecedented ten successful three-point shots and a personal best of 46 points, contributing to Mississippi State’s 91-85 victory over Auburn on Wednesday evening, a game where the Bulldogs initially squandered an 18-point advantage before mounting a comeback.
The 6-foot junior, Hubbard, surpassed the prior best of eight treys (achieved on half a dozen occasions) prior to the interval, sinking 9 of 12 attempts from long range and accumulating 35 points, which was two points superior to Auburn’s entire team total of 33, allowing the Bulldogs to enter halftime with a 16-point advantage.
With this performance, Hubbard, who has now registered a minimum of 30 points in three successive contests, established a new scoring benchmark for Mississippi State (13-13 overall, 5-8 in conference) in an SEC matchup, eclipsing Bailey Howell’s 45-point effort against LSU on February 22, 1958. Howell retains the all-time single-game scoring record for the institution with 47 points achieved versus Union on December 4, 1958.
This defeat marked Auburn’s (14-12 overall, 5-8 in conference play) fifth consecutive loss.
For the Tigers, Keyshawn Hall spearheaded their efforts, achieving 29 points and securing 10 rebounds. Tahaad Pettiford contributed 21 points, while Kevin Overton put up an additional 15 points.
With 1 minute and 11 seconds remaining, Hubbard converted a layup, and subsequent to Hall converting one of two free-throw attempts, Hubbard then drained a three-pointer from the corner, propelling Mississippi State to an 85-83 advantage 27 seconds thereafter. Achor Achor successfully thwarted two successive shot attempts from Hall, followed by Ja’Borri McGhee sinking both of his free throws, and Jamarion Davis-Fleming subsequently denying a layup try by Overton with 14 seconds remaining on the clock.
KeShawn Murphy secured Auburn’s initial lead in the contest, converting his own missed shot into a basket, putting them ahead 64-63 with 8 minutes and 50 seconds left to play.
Early in the match, the Bulldogs initiated play by amassing the first seven points, with Hubbard contributing 13 of those, notably through three consecutive successful three-point shots, establishing a dominant 21-6 lead approximately eight minutes into the contest.
