Mississippi
Men’s Basketball: Mississippi State’s road woes continue in loss to Florida
Mississippi State beat Florida at its own game Wednesday night, but the Bulldogs only had the opportunity to do so because they missed so many shots.
The Gators, who pull down the second-most offensive rebounds per game in all of men’s college basketball, lost that battle as MSU had a 22-15 edge on the offensive glass. A big chunk of that, though, was due to the Bulldogs having far more opportunities for offensive boards than their opponents. MSU finished 8-for-33 from 3-point range and had its second-worst overall shooting percentage of the season in a 79-70 loss.
Freshman Josh Hubbard led all scorers with 26 points, but was just 5-for-17 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Florida’s size bothered the Bulldogs (13-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) in the interior, as MSU missed 12 layups. Tolu Smith and Jimmy Bell Jr. even briefly shared the floor for the first time all year in an attempt to limit the Gators’ bigs.
“We were in a position where him taking a contested 3, maybe, (was) our best option at times,” head coach Chris Jans said. “It’s no fault of his that he was put in a position where you’re trying to get him to get shots and try to give us a chance to get back in the game.”
Smith finished with the minimum requirements for his second consecutive double-double — 10 points and 10 rebounds — but he too was inefficient, going 5-for-12 from the floor, turning the ball over four times and fouling out in the closing seconds.
The Bulldogs led by as many as five points early before Florida (13-6, 3-3) began to take control late in the first half. Will Richard matched Hubbard nearly bucket for bucket, finishing with 23 points on a much more efficient 8-for-15 from the floor and 4-of-7 from distance. He also had significantly more help than Hubbard — three other Gators finished in double figures, and Florida as a team was 17-for-20 at the foul line compared to a paltry 4-of-9 for MSU.
The Gators opened up a 17-point lead in the second half, making a late Bulldogs rally mere window dressing. MSU did go on a 14-3 run to pull as close as six points behind, but the visitors eventually needed to resort to fouling, and Florida put the game away at the free throw line to keep the Bulldogs winless in true road games.
Still without Andrew Taylor and KeShawn Murphy for personal reasons, MSU had a starter at less than full strength in Shakeel Moore, who has been dealing with an illness this week and did not practice or participate in the pregame shootaround. Moore played 19 minutes and made just two of eight field goal attempts, but was one of just two Bulldogs with a positive plus/minus, along with Cameron Matthews.
MSU returns to Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday for a key matchup with No. 8 Auburn, which suffered its first SEC loss Wednesday night at rival Alabama.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State baseball beats Cincinnati 10-5, moves within one win of regional title – SuperTalk Mississippi
Tomas Valincius struck out 10, Ace Reese and Kevin Milewski homered, and Reed Stallman knocked in three runs to lead Mississippi State to a 10-5 victory in the winner’s bracket game of the Starkville Regional on Saturday night.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (42-17) managed early behind another standout performance from Valincius, who allowed two runs over 7.1 innings to earn his 11th win of the season.
Valincius was supported offensively by Reese’s solo home run in the first inning, a run two-seed Cincinnati (38-21) responded to in the second to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs broke open the game with three runs in the fifth inning, then followed with four more in the sixth and two more in the seventh to build a 10-1 lead.
As part of the surge, Stallman knocked in three runs on two doubles, Gehrig Frei hit a two-run single, Bryce Chance drove in one, and Milewski hit a two-run shot. Vytas Valincius, Tomas’ brother, crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
Cincinnati worked to chip away late, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Bearcats scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth before Mississippi State reliever Ben Davis limited the damage by getting the final outs to end the ballgame.
Mississippi State is now just one win away from winning its first regional championship since 2021 – the same year the Bulldogs won the College World Series. Mississippi State will play the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Cincinnati and Louisiana at 7 p.m. If Mississippi State drops the game, a winner-take-all final will be played Monday.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi State got a dominant performance from Tomas Valincius and a 13-hit offensive performance to defeat Cincinnati 10-5 on Saturday night at Dudy Noble Field, moving on the the Starkville Regional Championship.
The Bulldogs broke open a tight game with a three-run fifth inning before adding four more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Reese gets it started
Ace Reese started the scoring with a solo home run to center field in the first inning, giving the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead. Cincinnati answered in the second when Christian Mitchelle doubled to shallow left, scoring Enzo Infelise to tie the game at 1-1.
Bulldogs score three in the fifth
Mississippi State scored three runs in the fifth inning, beginning with an RBI infield single from Bryce Chance to shortstop that scored Jacob Parker. Gehrig Frei followed with an infield single to second, plating Reed Stallman and Kevin Milewski to push the lead to 4-1.
Four more in the sixth
Mississippi State added four more runs in the sixth. Stallman delivered an RBI double to left to score Parker before Valincius crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Cincinnati’s Alex Gonzalez. Two batters later, Milewski launched a two-run homer to right field, stretching the Bulldogs’ lead to 8-1.
Stallman extends lead in the seventh
The Bulldogs extended the lead in the seventh when Stallman ripped a double to right, scoring Noah Sullivan and Parker for a 10-1 advantage.
Cincinnati added two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, making the final 10-5.
Valincius dominates on the mound
Valincius worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits while striking out 10 and walking two. He threw 112 pitches and recorded his 10th strikeout before exiting in the eighth inning. Maddox Webb took over after that and walked two batter. Ben Davis closed the game for State, pitching 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two.
Offensive leaders
Mississippi State finished with 13 hits.
Stallman led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. Chance collected three hits and drove in a run, while Frei finished with two hits and two RBIs. Reese added his first-inning homer, and Milewski’s two-run blast highlighted the sixth-inning surge. Parker scored three runs.
Up next
The Diamond Dawgs now head to the Starkville Regional Championship, where they will face the winner of the Cincinnati and Louisiana elimination game. State will only need one more win to advance to a Super Regional.
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HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – The Mississippi Miss Hospitality Program announced Saturday that contestants competing for the title in 2026 will be eligible for the organization’s largest scholarship offerings in its 77-year history.
Contestants will be eligible for more than $105,000 in scholarships and prizes, including $32,500 in direct cash scholarships.
The winner of the competition will receive a $10,000 cash scholarship, tuition scholarships, travel opportunities and a total prize package valued at $27,000. The first alternate will receive a cash scholarship of $6,000, the second will receive $3,500, the third will receive $2,500 and the fourth will receive $2,000.
During Saturday’s announcement, the Advisory Board of the Mississippi Miss Hospitality Program also revealed that the winning cash scholarship will be named for Bonnie Warren.
Warren has spent decades supporting tourism, hospitality and economic development efforts across Mississippi. She also helped move the Miss Hospitality Program from Starkville to Hattiesburg in 1998 and has remained one of its strongest advocates.
The theme for this year’s Miss Hospitality will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
The competition will take place July 17-18 in Hattiesburg. Tickets will go on sale in two weeks.
The Miss Hospitality Program was founded in 1949.
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Copyright 2026 WDAM. All rights reserved.
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