Mississippi

Inside the 5 plays that helped Mississippi State basketball hold off Georgia’s 2nd-half surge

Published

11 months ago

February 9, 2025

Inside the 5 plays that helped Mississippi State basketball hold off Georgia’s 2nd-half surge

Mississippi State basketball was leading by eight points to start the second half. Seven minutes later, Georgia tied the game with seven minutes to play.

Stegeman Coliseum was as loud as it had been all game.

Then with 6:33 to go in the game, MSU forward Cameron Matthews had the ball in the post and kicked it out to the top of the key for Claudell Harris Jr. Harris sank a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, hushing the Georgia fans.

That was one of five times in the half when Georgia tied the game up, only for Mississippi State to answer on the next possession in the nail-biter of a 76-75 win on Saturday in Athens, Georgia. The win snapped a two-game losing skid seven days after Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5 SEC) suffered its worst home loss since 2013.

“It was quite the game,” MSU coach Chris Jans said. “We survived a lot.”

How Mississippi State kept punching Georgia back

It wasn’t one MSU player who kept scoring to hold off Georgia’s surges. In fact, there were different players in each instance.

“It meant a lot, but that’s nothing new,” Matthews said. “That’s the same thing we’ve been working with all year. We got about 9-10 guys deep. We work hard every day. We get after each other every day, so we already knew what we could do.”

First, starting center Michael Nwoko, who scored MSU’s first nine points of the game, muscled in for a layup at the 17:05 mark, ending Georgia’s 8-0 run out of halftime.

Thirty-six seconds later, after Georgia tied it at 42, RJ Melendez, the transfer from Georgia who was booed by fans all game, hit a free throw.

Georgia (16-6, 4-7) tied the score again at 45 with Silas Demary Jr.’s 3-pointer. Shawn Jones Jr. answered with a 3-pointer, kick-starting an 8-0 MSU run.

Mississippi State broke one last tie with 3:42 remaining after Georgia scored five points in one possession. Harris was whistled for a flagrant foul on Georgia freshman Asa Newell, who connected on both of his free throws. Then, Newell drilled a 3-pointer to knot the score at 71-71. But MSU forward KeShawn Murphy slithered around a backdoor screen set by Josh Hubbard for an easy layup.

Mississippi State led for 32 minutes, 20 seconds of game time.

Mississippi State overcame bad free-throw shooting

Mississippi State nearly lost the game because of how poorly it shot free throws. It made just 6-of-18 attempts (33.3%), evenly split at 3-for-9 in each half.

Matthews was fouled with 7.2 seconds remaining, putting him at the free-throw line in the single bonus with a 76-75 lead. He missed the first shot. Georgia raced down the floor with a chance to take the lead, but Demary turned it over when he dribbled the ball off his foot.

Harris was fouled with 1 second remaining, but he also missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw.

MSU got one last stop when Melendez swatted away a full-court inbounds pass.

“Certainly, the one thing we’re disappointed in more than anything is just the free throws,” Jans said. “We’ve been a much better free-throw shooting (team) than that. It really felt like, I told some of the coaches, this is how we used to win. Bad from the line, bad from the 3. We’d defend and scrap and get it down to a one-possession game and figure out a way to win it. It felt like that.

“We’re not saying that’s what we’re trying to go back to, but you got to win in any fashion or form. That’s all that matters is how you win.”

It was the first time since 2021 that MSU shot below 40% from the free-throw line (minimum 10 attempts) and won.

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

No. 15 Arkansas uses balanced scoring to beat Mississippi 94-87 in SEC matchup

Published

48 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

No. 15 Arkansas uses balanced scoring to beat Mississippi 94-87 in SEC matchup

OXFORD, Miss. — Darius Acuff, Jr. had 26 points and nine assists, and No. 15 Arkansas got double-figure scoring from five players in a 94-87 win over Mississippi on Wednesday night.

Arkansas (12-3, 2-0 SEC) used a decisive 14-6 run midway through the second half to build an insurmountable 76-61 lead. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss (8-7, 0-2).

The Rebels pulled within 91-87 in the final minute, but Acuff converted a short jumper and Trevon Brazile added a free throw to help seal the win. Arkansas finished 22 of 30 (73%) from the free throw line, including 11 of 12 by Acuff.

Brazile scored 18 points, Billy Richmond III and Meleek Thomas added 13 points apiece, and Karter Knox scored 10 in the balanced Arkansas performance.

Ole Miss was led by Ilias Kamardine and Malik Dia with 16 points apiece. AJ Storr scored 12 points, Eduardo Klafke had 11 in the second half and Patton Pinkins added 10.

Arkansas used a 10-2 surge in the final two minutes of the first half for a 42-32 lead at the break. Brazile and Thomas had 10 points apiece in the first half, as the Razorbacks never trailed after the opening five minutes.

The Arkansas win is a sharp contrast to last season when John Calipari’s club started 0-5 in SEC play. The Razorbacks rallied to finish 7-3 with a berth in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) steps back to take a shot at the basket while guarded by Mississippi guard Travis Perry (11) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Oxford, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis

Ole Miss, after a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament, has struggled to replace four starters and three other significant contributors from last season’s nine-player rotation.

Up next

Arkansas: Completes a two-game trip at Auburn on Saturday.

Ole Miss: Hosts Missouri on Saturday.

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Vote: Who is the Mississippi High School Football Quarterback of the Year?

Published

13 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Vote: Who is the Mississippi High School Football Quarterback of the Year?

Today, we take a look at some of the best signal callers in the state of Mississippi from the 2025 season.

This season was one to remember in the state of Mississippi, and part of that is due to the terrific play from the quarterback position. Our nominees include a mixture of gunslingers and dual-threat quarterbacks who put on a show every single week, and because of that each nominee is worthy of a vote.

However, we will leave that up to you, the fan, to decide who is the High School on SI Mississippi high school quarterback of the year for 2025.

Voting will close on January 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Here are the nominations:

Chancelor comes in as our first nominee as he led the Magnolia State in passing yards this season. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,419 yards and 28 touchdowns. Chancelor also added two more scores on the ground.

This season, Mayes completed nearly 67 percent of his passes for 2,934 yards and 40 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. He also showed that he was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He rushed for 1,195 yards and 17 touchdowns on 122 carries.

Craft led the Oilers to an appearance to the Class 2A state championship after a terrific season as the signal-caller. He completed nearly 72 percent of his passes for 2,912 yards and 35 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Like Mayes, Craft was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He rushed for 1,027 yards and 17 touchdowns on 117 carries.

Stockett completed nearly 66 percent of his passes this season for 2,905 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also rushed for one touchdown.

Wilcox was another outstanding quarterback from the MAIS this season. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards and 34 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also rushed for 272 yards and eight touchdowns on 72 carries

Stringer completed just shy of 61 percent of his passes this season for 2,783 yards and 37 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He added 144 yards on the ground with two touchdowns.

As the leader on the offense, and one of the leaders on the entire team, Nettles was outstanding all season long as he helped led the Admirals to the Class 7A state championship. He finished 2025 with a 66 percent completion percentage and 2,750 yards with 23 touchdowns. He added two more scores on the ground.

This season, Shettles completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for 2,730 yards and 28 touchdowns with only one interception. He also rushed for 325 yards and nine touchdowns on 67 carries.

Hall took the momentum he had from his sophomore season and carried it over to this season. He completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,709 yards and 34 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He added 189 more yards on the ground with one touchdown.

Trivillion helped led the Pirates to 11 wins this season which is a school record thanks in part to his play from the quarterback position. He completed nearly 53 percent of his passes for 2,570 yards and 34 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Trivillion also rushed for 1,120 yards and 15 touchdowns on 105 carries this season.

This season, Ducksworth completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,581 yards with 27 touchdowns to only five interceptions.

Davis was one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state this season. He completed nearly 64 percent of his passes for 2,547 yards with 27 touchdowns and nine interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 650 yards and seven touchdowns on 96 carries.

Edwards showed that he was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the state this season with a 73 percent completion percentage. On top of completing nearly three-fourths of his passes, he passed for 2,534 yards with 20 touchdowns and just one interceptions. He also added 170 yards on the ground with three touchdowns.

Johnson completed over 50 percent of his passes for 2,510 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 488 yards and eight touchdowns on 104 carries.

Wade is our final quarterback of the year nominee for the 2025 season in the state of Mississippi. He completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,402 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions. Wade also rushed for 407 yards and 12 touchdowns on 107 carries.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.

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Mississippi

Miami Hurricanes have two Mississippi connections – and one is quite large

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Miami Hurricanes have two Mississippi connections – and one is quite large

The Miami Hurricanes, who play the Ole Miss Rebels in Thursday’s Fiesta Bowl, have two Mississippi connections. One is left tackle Markel Bell, a former standout at Holmes Community College. The other is offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, who previously worked at Millsaps College and Southern Miss.

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