By Kevin Brockway Staff | Gainesville Sun

Senior guard Egor Koulechov led four Florida scorers in double figures with 23 points, lifting the Gators to a 71-54 win over Mississippi State at the O’Connel Center.

The Gators (12-4, 4-0 SEC) extended their win streak to a season-high six games Wednesday and are off to a 4-0 start in league play for the second straight season.

Junior guard Jalen Hudson added 12 points, while forward Keith Stone had 10 points and senior point guard Chris Chiozza had 10 points and eight assists. Chiozza didn’t start after sitting out UF’s last two practices with strep throat but played 28 minutes off the bench and passed Nick Calathes for fifth on UF’s all-time assist list.

Koulechov scored UF’s first 13 points, making five of his first six shots and three of his first three 3-point attempts. Still, the Gators led just 33-28 at halftime and 38-35 early in the second half before gaining control of the game with a 14-3 run. Chiozza sparked the run with a 3-pointer and a four-point play on back-to-back possessions, putting Florida ahead to stay 45-35. From there, Florida extended its lead to 23 points late before emptying its bench.

Florida held Missisisppi State (13-3, 1-2) to just 40 percent from the field (22-55) and 31 percent from 3-point range (5-16).

FLORIDA 71, MISSISSIPPI ST. 54

MISSISSIPPI ST. (13-3)

Holman 3-4 1-1 7, Ado 6-8 0-0 12, Carter 1-6 0-0 2, Q.Weatherspoon 6-13 0-0 16, N.Weatherspoon 2-9 3-4 7, Feazell 0-1 0-0 0, Datcher 1-2 0-0 2, Wright 2-6 1-2 5, Peters 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 22-55 5-7 54.

FLORIDA (12-4)

Stone 4-9 1-1 10, Hayes 2-3 2-3 6, Koulechov 9-13 1-2 23, Hudson 3-13 5-5 12, Allen 1-3 0-0 3, Bassett 1-3 0-0 2, Gak 1-2 0-0 2, Chiozza 3-10 2-3 10, Okauru 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 25-58 12-16 71.

Halftime_Florida 33-28. 3-Point Goals_Mississippi St. 5-16 (Q.Weatherspoon 4-8, Peters 1-3, Wright 0-1, Carter 0-2, N.Weatherspoon 0-2), Florida 9-23 (Koulechov 4-5, Chiozza 2-5, Allen 1-2, Stone 1-4, Hudson 1-7). Fouled Out_Holman. Rebounds_Mississippi St. 30 (Ado 10), Florida 32 (Stone, Koulechov 8). Assists_Mississippi St. 9 (Q.Weatherspoon, N.Weatherspoon 3), Florida 13 (Chiozza 7). Total Fouls_Mississippi St. 17, Florida 11.