STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 18 points, and Tennessee used a second-half rally to beat Mississippi State 73-64 on Wednesday.
Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC) led 39-28 at halftime, overcoming a fast start from Josh Hubbard, who scored 14 of Mississippi State’s first 16 points and finished with 20 in the opening half. Hubbard also tied the program record for career 3-pointers during the game. Gillespie opened the second half with seven straight points as the Volunteers extended the margin to 46-30.
Mississippi State (11-13, 3-8) used an 18-0 run early in the second half to close the gap, but Tennessee answered immediately. Gillespie hit a 3-pointer, Nate Ament scored inside and J.P. Estrella added two free throws to stretch the margin once again. The Bulldogs never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Ament scored 16 points on 5 of 12 shooting and added five assists for Tennessee. Estrella finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Gillespie also recorded four assists and five rebounds. The Volunteers shot 44% and held a 45-31 rebounding advantage.
Hubbard scored 31 points for Mississippi State, going 13 of 24 from the field and 4 of 9 from 3-point distance. The Bulldogs shot 41% and went 7 of 13 at the line.
Tennessee hosts LSU on Saturday.
Mississippi State travels to Ole Miss on Saturday.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
