Postgame Notes: State vs. Auburn

TEAM NOTES

State made it back-to-back wins and grinded out a 91-85 triumph over Auburn on Wednesday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.
The Bulldogs fired out to a 49-33 halftime lead behind a memorable opening 20 minutes courtesy of Josh Hubbard. He piled up 35 points ignited by a school-record 9 treys.
Hubbard was locked in early and often as he amassed 26 of the team's first 34 points during the opening 13:01 of the contest.
State is 10-2 this season and 59-9 under Coach Jans when leading at the half. The 49 points for the Bulldogs are the most scored during the first half of a SEC contest under Coach Jans.
Auburn wouldn't go away and worked its way back into the contest behind Keyshawn Hall, Tahaad Pettiford and Kevin Overton who provided 40 of their combined 65 points during the second half. The Tigers would take an 80-73 advantage of their own at the 3:56 mark.
State dug deep and pumped home an 18-5 finishing kick fueled by 9 of the game's last 11 points inside the last 44 seconds.
Hubbard rose and drained a right corner triple to give the Maroon and White the lead for good at 85-83. Then, State's defense went to work with a trio of blocked shots by Achor Achor and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
The Bulldogs would extend their advantage behind six clutch free throws from Shawn Jones Jr. and Ja'Borri McGhee to salt away the 6-point decision.
State is 6-1 this season and 26-7 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 50 percent or better.
On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are 7-0 this season and 46-5 over the last four seasons when holding their opponent to under a 40 percent shooting clip.
State is 7-1 this season and 19-7 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when knocking down at least 10 or more three-pointers in a game.
State is 13-6 this season and 58-22 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when scoring 70 or more points. When scoring at least 90 points, the Bulldogs are 4-0 this season and 10-2 under Coach Jans.
The Maroon and White recorded a season-high 11 blocks and limited Auburn to 24 points in the paint. The 11 blocks also are a program-best under Coach Jans.
State sank 31-of-62 from the floor (50.0 percent), hit on 16-of-30 from three-point territory (53.3 percent) and connected on a 13-of-17 clip at the free throw line (76.5 percent).
State's 16 triples matched the most during a SEC game in program history. The Bulldogs also hit 16 treys against Texas A&M in 2018-19 and versus Arkansas in 2008-09 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Conversely, Auburn recorded a 24-of-62 shooting effort (38.7 percent), made 12-of-26 on its three-pointers (46.2 percent) and tallied a 25-for-31 mark at the charity stripe (80.6 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 76th consecutive game over the past three seasons (01/27/2024-02/18/2026) where he has led State in scoring during 51 of those 76 outings.
Exploded for a career-high 46 points where he shot 15-of-27 from the field, 10-of-16 from three-point territory and 6-of-9 at the charity stripe.
His 46 points marked the most points scored by a State player in an SEC game and the second-highest scoring performance in program history which is only behind Bailey Howell's 47 points against Union in 1958-59.
Amassed 35 of the 46 points during the first half. The 35 points mark the most points scored in the first half by a Division 1 basketball player since 2020-21.
Hubbard outscored the entire Auburn team by a 35-33 margin in the 1st half.
His 10 three pointers marked a State record for three-pointers in the game. His nine triples in the opening half broke the previous record of eight held by multiple players.
The 46 points also were the most points scored by a Coach Jans player in his career. The previous mark was 41 by Teddy Allen at New Mexico State.
Notched double figures for a team-leading 24th time this season and for the 87th time over his 94 career games.
The 87 games with 10+ points allowed Hubbard to tie Dee Bost (2009-10-11-12) for 6th place in the State record book.
Amassed 30+ points for a SEC-leading 6th time this season and has dialed up 9 of his 10 career games of 30+ points versus SEC teams.
Piled up 30+ points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.
The junior guard now has 1822 career points and sits 17 points shy from passing Rickey Brown (1976-77-78-79) for 5th place on the program's all-time list.
The 1822 points also allowed Hubbard to pass Vernon Maxwell and James Robinson (Alabama) for 7th place on the SEC scoring list for players after their junior season. He enters the South Carolina game 21 points shy of eclipsing Jamal Mashburn (Kentucky).
His 15 field goals made and the 10 trifectas marked a new career high in both categories.
Made 10+ field goals for the 7th time this season and the 11th time in his career.
The 10 treys enabled Hubbard to extend his program record. He now has 294 career three-pointers and is 13 triples shy of entering the SEC's top 10.
Drained 5+ three's for the 5th time this season and the 19th time in his career.
Grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and nearly tallied his first career double-double.
Led State in rebounding for the 2nd time in his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 24th time this season and the 72nd time in his career.
Swiped multiple steals for the 10th time this season and the 23rd time in his career.

Jayden Epps

Made his 3rd consecutive, his 17th start this season and his 78th career start between Illinois, Georgetown and State.
Provided 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Recorded double-digits for the 18th time in his last 23 outings and for the 80th time during his career.
Drained multiple three's for the 13th time this season and the 55th time in his career.
Moved past 200 career three-pointers for his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 13th time this season and the 66th time in his career.

Shawn Jones Jr.

Appeared in State's starting five for the 23rd time in 26 games this season and for the 36th time of his career.
Piled up a SEC career-high 12 points coupled with a career-high tying 5 assists, 5 rebounds and a career-best equaling 3 blocks.
Opened up scoring for the Bulldogs with a three from the top of the key.
Scored double digits for the 3rd time this season and for the 8th time in his career.
Drained multiple three's for the 4th time this season and for the 14th time in his career.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 11th time this season and for the 21st time in his career.
Handed out multiple assists for the 11th time this season and the 29th time in his career.
Swatted multiple shots for the 4th time this season and the 13th time in his career.

Achor Achor

Started in his 21st game this season and for the 55th time at the Division I level between Samford, Kansas State and Mississippi State.
Provided 5 points, 5 rebounds and a season-high 4 blocks.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 18th time this season and the 51st time in his career.
Blocked multiple shots for the 4th time this season and the 30th time in his career.

Quincy Ballard

Started for the 22nd time this season and for the 89th time in his last 93 games over the last three seasons between Mississippi State and Wichita State.
Provided 6 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Grabbed 5 or more rebounds for the 16th time this season and the 70th time in his career.
Swatted multiple shots for the 10th time this season and the 55th time of his career.
Recorded a block in 18 of his last 24 games at State and in 72 of 93 outings over the last three seasons.
Ballard enters the South Carolina game one block shy of 200 for his career.

BENCH

State outscored Auburn from the bench by a 9-7 margin.
Ja'Borri McGhee led the way on the bench by scoring 7 of the Bulldog's 9 bench points.
Handed out a SEC season-high tying 4 assists.
Dished out multiple assists for the 13th time this season and the 39th time in his career.
Jamarion Davis-Fleming tallied 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Swatted multiple shots for the 8th time in SEC play and for the 12th time this season.

Postgame Notes: State vs. Auburn

Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Ja’Borri McGhee

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Auburn

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Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Ja’Borri McGhee

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