All-Southeastern Conference first-teamer Iverson Molinar scored a season-high 19 points and Shakeel Moore matched his career best with 19 as Mississippi State beat Detroit Mercy 77-64 Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss.

Molinar and Moore were a combined 13 of 20 from the field and Moore scored 16 of his points in the second half to help the Bulldogs (3-0) hold off Detroit Mercy's comeback bid.

The Titans (0-3) put four players in double figures with Antoine Davis scoring 16, Prince Oduro 14, Kevin McAdoo 13, and Madut Akec 10 in cutting a 15-point first half deficit down to 52-48 before the Bulldogs got their advantage back to the 15-point cushion they enjoyed in the first half at 70-55.

Molinar scored 11 of State's first 14 points in getting the Bulldogs out to a 14-8 lead less than six minutes into the game.

The Titans were able to hang with the Bulldogs, however, and were within 27-22 after McAdoo's free throws at the 7:34 mark. But they managed only Akec's free throw over the next four minutes and the Bulldogs sprinted to a 38-23 cushion.

The visitors recovered in the closing minutes of the first half with an 8-1 run to trim their deficit to 39-31 at the break. Despite missing its last four shots, State still finished 14 of 24 (58.3 percent) from the field in the first half. They shot 59.2 percent for the game to Detroit's 43.6.

After a 10-point first half, Davis opened the second with a 3-pointer to get Detroit Mercy's deficit quickly down to 39-34. The Bulldogs went on a 9-2 spurt after that, however, to get the back up by double digits at 48-39 before the Titans closed again.

--Field Level Media