THE BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State is off to a perfect 4-0 start this season courtesy of a determined second-half surge that carried MSU past Utah 78-73 at the Landers Center in Southaven on Sunday. The Bulldogs trailed 39-28 after the first 20 minutes of play but used a 22-5 run out of halftime to gain a six-point edge before fending off the Utes down the stretch. Utah tied the game at 71-all with only 1:40 remaining, however State locked down defensively and scored seven of the game’s final nine points to secure victory.

KEY NUMBERS: Individually, Josh Hubbard scored 20 of his team-high 23 points in the second half to lead State’s surge, while KeShawn Murphy did a little of everything for the Bulldogs with 18 points, 14 rebounds, a couple of blocks and an assist. Riley Kugel and Cameron Matthews also reached double figures in scoring for State as each tallied 12 points. Matthews also collected a pair of steals, surpassing the 200-mark for his career. Collectively though, the biggest difference in the game was State’s second-half offensive resurgence. After shooting just 22.9 percent from the field as a team in the opening period, including only making one of 13 shots from three-point range, MSU shot 50 percent as a group the rest of the way and made five of its final 12 tries from deep.

SOCIAL MEDIA SCENES:

.@the_shawnjr5 ☝️#HailState🐶 || 📺: https://t.co/HQ0UaN0plb (ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/3w38DhYEnv

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

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Hustle play three and the Landers Center comes alive! #HailState🐶 || 📺: https://t.co/HQ0UaMZRvD (ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/jYxj2aDrdv

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

JOSH HUBBARD X2!

State opens up the second half on a 15-5 run and force the Utes to take a timeout!

𝗗𝗔𝗪𝗚𝗦 » 43
Utes » 44 #HailState🐶 || 📺: https://t.co/HQ0UaMZRvD (ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/xXOJoMewDG

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

11 Points in the second half so far for @jhubb_3! #HailState🐶 || 📺: https://t.co/HQ0UaMZRvD (ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/3tJdvNG6EC

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

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FIRE US UP, @MelendezRamses!!

RK TO RJ and the Dawgs lead by 3! #HailState🐶 || 📺: https://t.co/HQ0UaMZRvD (ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/JAZJQ9hjYa

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

Comeback Complete.

𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐆𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍!!#HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/fxqsemRSRh

— Mississippi State Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) November 17, 2024

NEXT UP FOR THE DAWGS: Mississippi State faces a true road test as MSU battles SMU at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, Nov. 22. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed via ACC Network Extra.

Associated Press

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) — Josh Hubbard scored 23 points, Cameron Matthews made several key free throws down the stretch and Mississippi State rallied in the second half to defeat Utah 78-73 on Sunday in the Mid-South Showdown.

KeShawn Murphy scored 18 points, Matthews 12, with 8 of 10 from the line, and Ryan Kugel scored 12 for the Bulldogs. Murphy had 14 rebounds.

Matthews made two free throws on back-to-back possessions to put the Bulldogs up 75-71 in the final minute. After a Utes miss, their defensive pressure forced Mississippi State to call timeout twice. Utah then fouled Matthews again. He made one of two, then Kugel got an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

Ezra Ausar led Utah with 15 points. Mason Madsen scored 14, Keanu Dawes 13 and Miro Little 10. Dawes had 12 rebounds.

Hubbard scored 11 points and Murphy had seven as the Bulldogs stormed back from an 11-point halftime deficit to lead 50-44 with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. The Utes regrouped and went ahead by four before a string of seven lead changes in the next three minutes.

Utah controlled the first half, building an 11-point lead at the intermission. The Utes outscored the Bulldogs 24-11 over the second 10 minutes of the half, with Dawes scoring seven points and Little capping the run with two 3-pointers.

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