Mississippi

Johnson helps South Carolina hold off Mississippi State, 68-62 in SEC opener

Published

2 years ago

January 6, 2024

Johnson helps South Carolina hold off Mississippi State, 68-62 in SEC opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. (South Carolina Athletics) – Meechie Johnson had a clutch steal and hit four free throws in the final seconds to allow South Carolina to hold off Mississippi State 68-62 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.

Johnson scored 15 of his team-high 24 points over the final 11 minutes, hitting 8 of 8 from the free throw line with a key steal and an assist to help hold off the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State never led in the second half but tied the game at 42 on Dashawn Davis’ jumper with 11:51 to play. The Gamecocks responded with a Collin Murray-Boyles jumper and Johnson hit 2 of 3 from the line and followed up with a 3 in a 9-0 run with just under 10 minutes left.

Josh Hubbard turned a four-point play with 22 seconds left to get the Bulldogs within 64-62. Ta’Lon Cooper drew a foul with :17 left but missed both free throws. D.J. Jeffries pulled in the rebound, but Johnson forced Dashawn Davis to pick up his dribble well behind the 3-point line, then stole the ball and drew a foul with :07 left. His two free throws made it a two-possession game, then he added two more to set the final score.

Johnson hit 6 of 12 from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc, and was 9 of 11 from the line to finish with 24 points. Myles Stute added 15 points. South Carolina (13-1, 1-0) hit 21 of 52 from the field (40.4%) and was 18 of 26 from the line. The Gamecocks had a 35-26 advantage on the boards and scored 16 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.

Meechie Johnson goes for a game-high 24 points in the Gamecocks SEC opener along with the game-sealing steal.
Leading the breakdown with the fellas after the win. pic.twitter.com/Xb9VlHG102
— Carmine Gemei (@CarmineGemei) January 6, 2024

Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1) was 25 of 52 from the field (48.1%), but hit just 3 of 13 from distance and was 9 of 14 from the line. Tolu Smith and Hubbard both scored 13 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs. Shakeel Moore had 10 points.

South Carolina plays at Alabama on Tuesday. Mississippi State plays host to No. 5 Tennessee on Wednesday.

KEY STAT

Junior guard Meechie Johnson led all scorers with 24 points on 50.0 percent shooting (6-for-12) including 9-of-11 from the free throw line. It marks Johnson’s 12th double-figure scoring game this season and his eighth leading the team in points. Johnson nailed the last four free throws of the game with both pairs coming inside the final 7 seconds.

NOTABLES

Junior guard Myles Stute provided big minutes, scoring 15 points on an efficient 6-of-11 from the floor including three triples. It marks his 10th double figure scoring game this season (team 10-0 when he scores 10+). Stute also grabbed six boards in 29 minutes of action for Carolina.
Graduate guard Ta’Lon Cooper led South Carolina with seven dimes to just one turnover. Cooper game into the game ranked seventh nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. He now has six games this season with 5+ assists and 10 games with one or no turnovers.
Sophomore guard Zachary Davis and freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles provided vital minutes off the bench for Carolina. The duo of Davis (9) and Murray-Boyles (8) combined for 17 points on an efficient 6-of-8 from the floor.
Carolina is now 8-2 in games where Meechie Johnson scores 20 or more points.
The win snaps a three-game skid to the Bulldogs that dates back to the team’s opening game of the 2022 SEC Tournament.
In four all-time SEC openers against Mississippi State, Carolina is now 1-3 against the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks improve to 13-20 alll-time in league openers with today’s victory.
The last SEC opening win for Carolina was a 78-54 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday, Jan. 6 during the team’s COVID season.
The victory today also marks the team’s first 10-game home win streak since the 2015-16 season when the team started the year 13-0 at home. That tied the longest win streak since the 1997-98 team won 13-in-a-row at home.
Today marks the sixth 13-1 start in program history (1933-34, 1944-45, 1969-70, 2003-04, 2015-16 and 2023-24).

UP NEXT

Carolina (13-1, 1-0 SEC) hits the road for a pair of games next week, first traveling to Alabama (8-5) on Tuesday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (ET) on SEC Network. Dave Neal (pxp) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) will be on the call for the broadcast. The Gamecocks are then at Missouri (8-6, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday.

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Mississippi

Mississippi turkey season bag limit, structure proposed for nonresident hunters

Published

9 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi turkey season bag limit, structure proposed for nonresident hunters

‘We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.’

If a proposal made in the April meeting of the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is finalized, nonresident turkey hunters will see big changes in the 2027 spring turkey season.

“We’re doing this in a way to impact how hunting pressure occurs and how the harvest happens in the early season,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.”

Turkey hunters enjoy a three-bird bag limit and a little more than six weeks of hunting in spring, which is similar to some other states. What is at issue is when it opens. March 15 is the typical opening date for the regular season, making it one of the earliest in the nation.

That early opening date combined with a growing trend among turkey hunters is where the problem lies.

Mississippi is a destination for early season, nonresident hunters

Possibly more than any other group of hunters, turkey hunters like to travel. For some, it may be a matter of seeing a different landscape and hunting birds under condions they don’t encounter in their home state. For others it may be a quest to harvest each of the subspecies in North America.

For yet another group, it’s the challenge of harvesting a gobbler in each of the 49 states that have turkeys.

“It seems to be getting more and more popular every year,” Hinton said.

Regardless of why a turkey hunter chooses to travel, it puts a target on Mississippi’s back because for the first few weeks of the season, it’s almost the only game in town, so hunters flock to the state.

In an effort to curb the amount of hunting pressure in those first weeks of turkey season, MDWFP proposed limiting nonresident hunters to two legal gobblers per season and only one of those can be harvested before April 1.

“Hopefully, it will help curb the massive influx of pressure we get the first week or two of the season,” Hinton said.

When will turkey season changes for nonresidents be voted on?

The proposed changes aren’t the first that have been geared toward alleviating pressure on turkeys in the early part of the season by nonresidents. In 2022, the commission passed a rule requiring nonresident hunters to enter a drawing for a hunt on public land during the first two weeks of turkey season. Currently, the number of hunters drawn is limited to 800.

Like that change, the current proposal will pass or fail by a vote of the wildlife commission. In the April commission meeting, the proposal passed an initial vote. It is now in a 30-day public comment period and a final vote will be taken in the May meeting.

Public comments may be submitted at https://www.mdwfp.com/proposed-rules-regulations.

A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Mississippi high school addresses social media post, says it won’t tolerate racism or harassment

Published

21 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi high school addresses social media post, says it won’t tolerate racism or harassment

LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi high school has made a statement after a social media post involving a student surfaced.

Northeast Lauderdale High School officials say they’re reviewing a social media post involving a student.

In a statement, the school said administrators are aware of the post and are “reviewing the situation.”

The school said it is committed to maintaining a safe, orderly and respectful environment for students and staff.

“Neither our district nor our school accept or condone racism, discrimination, harassment, or behavior that is inconsistent with the expectations of our school community,” the statement said.

Officials said they are working with the appropriate parties and will address the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures.

The school added that it cannot share additional details because of student privacy laws.

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Mississippi

Ryan McPherson injury update, Mississippi State star hurts ankle, exits Auburn game

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Ryan McPherson injury update, Mississippi State star hurts ankle, exits Auburn game

(This story was updated to add new information.)

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball starting pitcher Ryan McPherson exited his May 9 return against Auburn with an ankle injury, according to coach Brian O’Connor.

McPherson tripped behind home plate while backing up a potential throw in the second inning and limped back to the mound. The MSU coaches and trainer examined McPherson before pulling him.

McPherson was making his first start since March 20 after suffering a forearm strain.

The No. 11 Bulldogs (38-14, 15-12 SEC) trailed the No. 6 Tigers (35-15, 16-11) by one run with one out in the inning before getting run-ruled 13-2 in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field.

McPherson threw 34 pitches in 1⅓ innings with one earned and one unearned run allowed, two hits, no walks and no strikeouts.

He did not throw a practice pitch while being examined, and he didn’t limp as he walked into the dugout, either.

Ryan McPherson injury update from Brian O’Connor

O’Connor revealed after the game that McPherson was on a 40-pitch limit, so he was likely going to get pulled soon anyway.

“I would hate for the young man to have a setback because he goes out there and tries to throw to another batter or two and changes this delivery because of an ankle (injury),” O’Connor said. “So that’s what went into that decision. It’s unfortunate, but it was good to get him back out there.”

McPherson, a sophomore, missed six straight starts with his forearm injury. He took Charlie Foster’s spot in the pitching rotation for the Auburn series.

One series remains at Texas A&M before the SEC Tournament.

“We’ll see how he recovers from this and then to see what his availability will be for next weekend,” O’Connor said.