Mississippi State seeks to bounce back from a poor defensive showing when it battles New Mexico on Friday night in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, Mo.

The Bulldogs (2-2) had no answer for Kansas State star PJ Haggerty while falling 98-77 in Thursday's first round. Haggerty scored 37 points on 13-of-21 shooting to lead the Wildcats into Friday's championship game against Nebraska.

"We just weren't the better team, that's the bottom line," Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said afterward. "They were better than us. We didn't play well enough for long enough spurts. We had our moments, we had our stretches where it looked like what we needed to play like."

The Bulldogs also were gouged in their other loss this season when Iowa State produced a 96-80 victor

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