Perry lifts Mississippi State over Kent State 96-68

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Reggie Perry had career-highs with 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead Mississippi State past Kent State 96-68 on Monday night.

Perry was 8 of 16 from the floor and 10 of 14 at the free throw line for the Bulldogs (9-3). He joins Robert Woodard as the only other SEC player this year to collect 20 or more points and 15 or more rebounds in a single game. Woodard scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds against New Orleans earlier this month.

Iverson Molinar added 16 points for the Bulldogs while D.J. Stewart finished with 12. Robert Woodard and Nick Weatherspoon also finished in double digits for Mississippi State with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Anthony Roberts led Kent State (10-3) with 16 points. Danny Pippen added 11 and Antonio Williams had 10 points for the Golden Flashes.

Troy Simons‘ 4-point play gave the Golden Flashes an early 9-1 advantage and they led by as many as nine in the first half.

But the Bulldogs started to find a groove late in the first half, and reeled off a 14-2 run to take their first lead at 38-37 following a Woodard bucket. Mississippi State closed out the half on a 17-4 run and led 45-39 at halftime.

Mississippi State shot a sizzling 60% in the first half while Kent State shot 50% from the field. Kent State also had seven first-half turnovers while the Bulldogs had five.

BIG PICTURE

Kent State: The Golden Flashes finished off their nonconference slate at 10-3. That included losses at Mississippi State and Ohio State along with Cal-Irvine.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs now enter SEC play with some momentum after posting a season-high in points on Monday against Kent State.

UP NEXT

Kent State: The Golden Flashes open up conference play on Friday and travel to Bowling Green in the MAC opener.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs begin SEC action on Saturday and host undefeated Auburn.