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Men’s Basketball: Mississippi State overcomes ugly start in win over Prairie View A&M

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1 year ago

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Men’s Basketball: Mississippi State overcomes ugly start in win over Prairie View A&M


STARKVILLE — Chris Jans would have preferred not to need Cameron Matthews on Sunday.

Mississippi State’s head coach said the fifth-year senior forward has been dealing with a foot injury for “weeks,” and that Matthews had not touched a basketball since Wednesday night’s win over Pittsburgh. But with the Bulldogs chasing the lead for almost the entire first half against Prairie View A&M, Jans broke glass in case of emergency and inserted Matthews into the game.

Matthews looked hobbled at times but played nearly all of the second half as MSU rallied for a 91-84 win over the scrappy Panthers after trailing by as many as 15 points early. He and the Bulldogs will have five days off before taking the court again Saturday against McNeese in Tupelo.

“I didn’t want to necessarily play him, but he was going to be available if we thought we needed him to win this game,” Jans said. “We decided to make the decision, and he certainly had a big impact on the game. He changed the tenor of the game at the end of the first half and the minutes he played in the second half.”

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Prairie View entered Sunday with the worst scoring defense among 355 Division I teams, allowing 98.5 points per game. MSU (8-1) had just 14 points 10 minutes into the game and missed 11 of their first 16 shots before finding their rhythm.

The far bigger issue for the Bulldogs, though, was on the defensive end. The Panthers (1-8) made six straight shots early in the game and used a 13-0 run to build a 27-12 lead as MSU’s defensive intensity from its blowout of Pitt four days earlier was nowhere to be found. Prairie View made 56.4 percent of its shots for the game and finished 10-for-19 from 3-point range.

“It was not a very good performance defensively,” Jans said. “They have good players, and when you give good players confidence, anything can happen. Some of it was that, some of it was just guys not being where they should be positionally. The early success they had against us gave their team confidence, gave their staff confidence, and they rode that.”

The Bulldogs gradually reeled the Panthers back in over the last 10 minutes of the first half. A Josh Hubbard 3-pointer cut the MSU deficit to two with just more than a minute left, and Claudell Harris Jr.’s baseline jumper tied the game going into the break.

Hubbard shook off a slow start and led all scorers with 25 points, while Harris had 21 on 6-for-9 shooting. Each finished with 16 second-half points, including seven apiece during a 14-1 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point Bulldogs lead.

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“I have a lot of talented teammates,” Harris said. “I see them work hard day in and day out, so (it’s about) trusting that they’re going to make plays for themselves, make plays for me. I’m just focusing on the defense, and it came to me tonight.”

Shawn Jones Jr., making his fourth start of the season, had 11 points, and Michael Nwoko and RJ Melendez added 10 each. Nwoko recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes. Matthews, after checking in for the first time with four minutes and 10 seconds left in the first half, ended up playing 22 minutes and finished with six points, seven rebounds and six assists.

MSU overcame a trio of strong offensive performances from Prairie View — Nick Anderson had 21 points, Tanahj Pettaway added 20 and was 4-for-5 from distance, and Marcel Bryant chipped in with 19. Panthers starting post player Ryan Bolton Jr., though, fouled out with nearly 16 minutes remaining in the second half.

Last season on an early December Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs blew a late 11-point lead and lost to SWAC member Southern, but this year’s group managed to avoid a bad loss at the same juncture of the season.

“(We were) just trying to do anything we can to help each other win and not giving up,” Jones said. “Last year, we gave up and we thought it was going to be a cakewalk. We came in this year and did the same thing. We just had a different mindset toward the end of the game, and that was just staying together, sticking together, and playing our basketball.”

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Mississippi State men’s basketball MSU

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Mississippi

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

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7 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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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.

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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.

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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?

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19 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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1 day ago

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January 7, 2026

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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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