Haggerty erupts for 37 as Kansas State blows past Mississippi State 98-77

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — P.J. Haggerty scored 37 points, Nate Johnson added 14, and Kansas State turned a tight halftime lead into a runaway, beating Mississippi State 98–77 on Thursday night.

Haggerty shot 13 of 21 from the field, hit four 3-pointers and went 7 of 8 at the line, repeatedly beating closeouts off the bounce. Johnson knocked down two 3s and handed out four assists, while Abdi Bashir Jr. chipped in 12 with four makes from deep.

Kansas State (5–0) buried 14 threes and assisted on 22 of its 37 field goals. Leading 44–36 at the break, the Wildcats broke the game open with a 13–5 surge. Haggerty sliced to the rim for a layup, Johnson drilled a transition 3 and Haggerty followed with another from the left wing for a 52–41 cushion.

Mississippi State (2–2) briefly countered behind Jayden Epps, who hit back-to-back 3s to close the gap to 57–47, but David Castillo answered with a 3 of his own.

McGriff scored seven straight points in the final stretch, Castillo knocked down two free throws, and Bashir buried a corner 3 to push the lead past 20 with under three minutes left.

Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 23 points, and Brandon Walker scored 18 off the bench, but MSU struggled from deep (7 of 25) and couldn’t keep pace with the Wildcats’ perimeter fire. ___ 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