Mississippi

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

Published

1 month ago

December 8, 2024

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.”

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.

“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.”

Mississippi State men’s basketball MSU

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Mississippi

Winter Storm Enzo: Here’s the latest on temperatures around Mississippi

Published

8 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Winter Storm Enzo: Here’s the latest on temperatures around Mississippi

Arctic air is bringing bitterly cold temperatures and dangerous driving conditions to Mississippi this week.

Mississippi woke up to chilly temperatures this morning, but that’s just the opening act. Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and lower this week and parts of the state, including the Mississippi Coast, could see 2-4 inches of snow.

According to the National Weather Service, light snow is expected as for north as the South Delta with accumulation becoming heavier moving south. South Mississippi is under a Significant Threat with accumulations up to 4 inches on Tuesday with dangerous driving conditions and power outages expected.

The entire states faces dangerous cold with the low expected to be around 9 degrees in Oxford on Wednesday morning and 18 degrees along the Mississippi Coast. Overnight temperatures well below freezing are expected to linger across the state for several days including the Jackson and Central Mississippi areas.

Here are the expected temperatures according to the National Weather Service as of 5 a.m. Monday.

Jackson

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 34 degrees, 50% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 20 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 28 degrees, high 59 degrees

Southaven

Tuesday: Low 21 degrees, high 27 degrees
Wednesday: Low 14 degrees, high 36 degrees
Thursday: Low 23 degrees, high 44 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 45 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 53 degrees

Corinth

Tuesday: Low 18 degrees, high 28 degrees
Wednesday: Low 10 degrees, high 36 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 45 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 44 degrees
Saturday: Low 27 degrees, high 52 degrees

Oxford

Tuesday: Low 17 degrees, high 29 degrees
Wednesday: Low 9 degrees, high 37 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 44 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 45 degrees
Saturday: Low 27 degrees, high 55 degrees

Greenville

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 32 degrees
Wednesday: Low 16 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 24 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 26 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 57 degrees

Greenwood

Tuesday: Low 21 degrees, high 33 degrees
Wednesday: Low 14 degrees, high 40 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 58 degrees

Starkville

Tuesday: Low 18 degrees, high 33 degrees, 20% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 48 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 56 degrees

Yazoo City

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 32 degrees, 30% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 15 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 57 degrees

Philadelphia

Tuesday: Low 19 degrees, high 33 degrees, 40% chance of snow with little or no accumulation
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 49 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 56 degrees

Vicksburg

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 33 degrees, 40% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 20 degrees, high 48 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 52 degrees
Saturday: Low 29 degrees, high 60 degrees

Meridian

Tuesday: Low 20 degrees, high 33 degrees, 60% precipitation, snow accumulation less than 1/2 inch
Wednesday: Low 12 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 47 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 25 degrees, high 56 degrees

Natchez

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 31 degrees, 70% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 38 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 45 degrees
Friday: Low 25 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 30 degrees, high 58 degrees

Brookhaven

Tuesday: Low 22 degrees, high 32 degrees, 80% chance of snow
Wednesday: Low 11 degrees, high 39 degrees
Thursday: Low 17 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 57 degrees

Hattiesburg

Tuesday: Low 23 degrees, high 33 degrees, 80% chance of snow with 1-3 inches accumulation
Wednesday: Low 13 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 18 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 23 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 25 degrees, high 57 degrees

Wiggins

Tuesday: Low 25 degrees, high 32 degrees, 90% chance of snow with 2-4 inches accumulation
Wednesday: Low 15 degrees, high 41 degrees
Thursday: Low 19 degrees, high 46
Friday: Low 24 degrees, high 50 degrees
Saturday: Low 26 degrees, high 57 degrees

Biloxi

Tuesday: Low 26 degrees, high 34 degrees, 90% chance of snow with 2-4 inches accumulation and additional snow, freezing rain Tuesday night
Wednesday: Low 18 degrees, high 40 degrees
Thursday: Low 22 degrees, high 46 degrees
Friday: Low 27 degrees, high 51 degrees
Saturday: Low 31 degrees, high 57 degrees

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Chris Beard Speaks on Malik Dia’s Limited Minutes in Loss Against Mississippi State

Published

15 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Chris Beard Speaks on Malik Dia’s Limited Minutes in Loss Against Mississippi State

The Ole Miss Rebels encountered their first bump in the road in SEC play as they suffered a loss to in-state foe Mississippi State on Saturday night.

One noticeably missing piece to Saturday’s game was trasnfer center Malik Dia, who has been dominant since conference play began.

Dia saw struggles earlier on this season, seeing limited minutes due to foul trouble, but this was not the case as he only had one personal foul in his 18 minutes of play.

Dia finished the game with eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, but he also struggled to hold onto the ball, recording four turnovers.

Rebels head coach Chris Beard spoke postgame on why he veered away from the big man, even taking some blame for limiting Dia’s minutes.

“We need Dia to to play, and we need him to play well,” Beard said. “Should he have played more today? Maybe. Probably. Those are decisions coaches have to make. What we were doing was obviously working.

“We got back in the game, we had a chance to win the game, the game went to overtime, but certainly Dia is one of our best players. He needs to be on the court for us.”

Coming into the matchup, DIa has averaged 17.5 points per game and 10 rebounds, including his season-high 23 points matched with his career-high 19 rebounds earlier this week in a win over Alabama.

Ole Miss is set to take on Texas A&M at home on Wednesday where Beard could look back to the first-year Reb to provide a spark in Ole Miss’ first home game in 11 days. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Mississippi

Ole Miss women’s basketball slips by Mississippi State with late 8-0 run

Published

23 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Ole Miss women’s basketball slips by Mississippi State with late 8-0 run

STARKVILLE — The Ole Miss women took Part II of the weekend’s in-state basketball rivalry series against Mississippi State.

After Mississippi State men’s hoops topped the Rebels in overtime on Saturday, the Rebels’ women prevailed Sunday 71-63 at Humphrey Coliseum. Both teams held leads in the fourth quarter, but Ole Miss scored eight unanswered points in three minutes for the win.

Rebels guard/forward Madison Scott led the game with a career-high 30 points, followed by MSU’s Jerkaila Jordan with 19.

It’s the only time Ole Miss (13-5, 4-2 SEC) and Mississippi State (15-5, 2-4) are scheduled to play each other this season.

Mississippi State took control early but Ole Miss had an answer

The Bulldogs forced Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin to take a timeout five minutes into the game when they opened a 14-5 lead. Denim DeShields and Debreasha Powe both nailed 3-pointers that beat the shot clock buzzer. The lead ballooned to 18-8 before Ole Miss shaved the lead down to one at the first quarter’s end.

It was sparked by Scott, who scored five consecutive points in an 11-2 run. MSU made 1-of-6 field goal attempts in the final four minutes. Kennedy Todd-Williams scored the first bucket of the second quarter, which gave Ole Miss its first lead of the game.

Ole Miss allowed just nine points in the second quarter as it took a 34-29 halftime lead. Jordan scored seven of MSU’s nine points in the quarter.

Ole Miss, Mississippi State traded lead back and forth in second half

Ole Miss commanded the early portion of the third quarter, building a 43-37 lead. However, MSU produced a 9-1 run to regain a brief lead.

Scott scored nine more points in the quarter, but Eniya Russell kept the Bulldogs in pace with nine points of her own, including two 3-pointers. Ole Miss took a 53-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State were tied at 61-61 with five minutes remaining, but the Rebels gained separation on an 8-0 run. Four of the points were scored by Scott, who also blocked a Russell layup with one minute remaining.

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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