Mississippi
No. 12 Auburn holds off Mississippi State 73-66 to reach SEC Tournament title game
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dylan Cardwell scored his only points on consecutive dunks in the final minutes as No. 12 Auburn held off ninth-seeded Mississippi State 73-66 on Saturday to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.
With the SEC’s top three seeds losing their openers Friday for the first time in this tournament since 1983, that left a wide-open path for Auburn (26-7) to win the event for the first time since 2019. The Tigers are in the title game for the fifth time in program history.
They will play either Texas A&M or Florida as they try to win Auburn’s third title.
Chad Baker-Mazara led five Tigers in double figures with 14 points. Denver Jones and Jaylin Williams each added 13. Johni Broome and Tre Donaldson had 10 apiece.
Josh Hubbard scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, trying to rally Mississippi State (21-13). The Bulldogs go home shy of the championship game continuing a drought that started after their last berth in 2010.
D.J. Jeffries had 12 points for Mississippi State, and Tolu Smith II had 10.
Mississippi State had pulled to within 57-56 on seven straight points when Cardwell got his only buckets of the game. His first dunk came with 4:40 left, then he dunked again with 4:08 remaining before running over in front of some Auburn fans to celebrate with a scream.
This was a chippy game, with double technicals handed out not once but twice. Auburn junior Johni Broome needed a trainer to treat his nose at one point early in the second half with the Tigers up 39-35.
Mississippi State led 31-29 before Williams beat the buzzer driving to the basket for a layup, tying it up at 31 going into halftime after Auburn trailed 12-4 early. Broome’s 3 in the opening minute of the second half put the Tigers ahead to stay.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs dominated the boards with a 37-29 edge. But after a 10-1 scoring edge off second-chance points by halftime, they didn’t convert those rebounds in the second half. Auburn outscored them 4-2 after halftime. … The Bulldogs also hurt themselves at the free-throw line, going 17 of 27 (63%).
Auburn: Bruce Pearl joined Sonny Smith as the only coaches in program history to reach the title game multiple times. Smith went 1-1 in his trips in 1984 and ’85. The Tigers also went in 2000, and Pearl led them to the title in 2019.
UP NEXT
Auburn beat Texas A&M 66-55 on Jan. 9 but lost on the road at Florida 81-65 on Feb. 10.
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Mississippi
Mississippi College Baseball Wins Series vs. West Florida for First Time
Mississippi College baseball has won the series against West Florida for the first time ever
The Choctaws have been playing UWF since 2015
MC won the first two games and put on a bit of a comeback in game 3
Next: GSC at Delta St., then Conference Tournament
Mississippi
George County High School senior killed in Highway 26 crash, MHP says
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) — A George County High School senior is dead after an SUV hit him while bicycling on Highway 26 Friday night.
Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) officials said at 8:15 p.m. the MHP responded to a fatal crash on Highway 26 in George County.
Those officials said a Ford SUV traveling west on Highway 26 collided with 18-year-old Tyree Bradley of McLain, Mississippi, who was bicycling.
Bradley was fatally injured and died at the scene, MHP officials said.
The crash remains under investigation by the MHP.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State Drops Series Opener at Texas A&M Despite Late Chances
Some losses feel like they drag on longer than the box score suggests, and Mississippi State’s 3-1 opener at Texas A&M fits that category.
It wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t a game where the Bulldogs looked outmatched.
It was just one of those nights where the early mistakes stuck around and the offense never quite found the swing that could shake them loose.
The frustrating part is how quickly the hole formed. Two solo homers and a wild pitch in the first two innings put Mississippi State behind 3-0, and that was basically the ballgame.
Against a top tier SEC team on the road, spotting three runs that early is a tough ask. The Bulldogs didn’t fold, but they also didn’t cash in when the door cracked open.
“I liked our fight. I think we’re really just working through some things offensively, and trying to stay together,” Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts said. “This team still believes, and we’re going to battle and fight every chance we get, and I think I saw a lot of that. I’m encouraged for what that means for us moving forward, but, you know, they’re a good hitting team, and we’ve got to be able to shut them down early. I don’t think Peja [Goold] had her best stuff, but she continued to battle out there and find ways to get outs.”
They had chances. Two runners stranded in the fifth. Two more in the sixth. Another in the seventh. Des Rivera finally got the Bulldogs on the board with an RBI single, but the big hit that usually shows up for this lineup never arrived.
It wasn’t a lack of traffic. It was a lack of finish.
If there was a bright spot, it came from the bullpen. Delainey Everett gave Mississippi State exactly what it needed after the rocky start.
“That was just a huge relief appearance by Delaney to keep us in it,” Ricketts said. “It’s really good to have her back and healthy these last few weeks because these are the moments where we really need her and rely on her. We know that she’s going to be a big part of the remainder of the season going forward as well.”
Three hitless innings, one baserunner, and a reminder that she’s quietly putting together a strong stretch.
There were individual positives too. Nadia Barbary keeps climbing the doubles list. Kiarra Sells keeps finding ways on base.
But the bigger picture is simple. Mississippi State is now 6-10 in the SEC, and the margin for error is shrinking. Nights like this one are the difference between climbing back into the race and staying stuck in the middle.
They get another shot this morning with the schedule bumped up for weather. The formula isn’t complicated.
Clean up the early innings, keep getting quality relief, and find one or two timely swings. The Bulldogs didn’t get them Friday. They’ll need them today.
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