Mississippi
No. 14 Alabama retains a share of 1st place in the SEC with a 103-88 win over Mississippi
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 26 points and No. 14 Alabama held on to its share of first place in the Southeastern Conference with a 103-88 win over Mississippi on Wednesday night.
Sears, a 6-foot-1 guard and the SEC’s leading scorer at 20.4 points a game, was 8 for 14 from the floor and 3 for 8 from 3-point range as Crimson Tide (20-8) kept pace with conference co-leader No. 4 Tennessee, which beat No. 11 Auburn 92-84 earlier Wednesday.
Tennessee and Alabama are 12-3 in conference play.
Aaron Estrada had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Davin Cosby Jr. added 15 points, Rylan Griffen had 14 and Nick Pringle and Grant Nelson each had 10 for The Crimson Tide.
“He’s getting comfortable in the offense, figuring out where to get his shots, when he can attack,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Estrada. “I keep telling him he needs to stop passing up open 3s. He deserves to have a good game because he’s been playing so hard. It’s awesome when you think of all the pros we’ve had come through here.”
Allen Flanigan led Ole Miss with 28 points, an SEC season-high for the Auburn transfer.
Flanigan was ejected from Saturday’s 72-59 loss to No. 18 South Carolina after a flagrant foul. He did not start Wednesday, but was in the game within the first three minutes.
“The first half was one of our better halves all season, one of our better 20-minute segments. I thought we needed to score 90 points and make nine or 10 3s to win this game,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said.
Ole Miss (19-9, 6-9 SEC) slowed the Crimson Tide’s conference-leading offense (91.1 points per game) in the first half, but eventually Alabama pulled away.
The Crimson Tide, who have scored at least 80 points in nine straight games, were on a 60-point pace before a couple of 3-pointers fueled a 16-5 run to close the first half. Sears had eight points in the run.
Ole Miss led 42-39 at the break.
Two free throws by Jarin Stevenson at the 18:58 mark of the second half gave Alabama its first lead of the game. The Crimson Tide stretched their lead to nine points on a 3-pointer by Estrada with 14:19 left.
The Rebels tied the game at 65 with 9:39 left when Jaylen Murray capped an 8-0 run with two free throws, but Alabama surged ahead.
BIG PICTURE
Ole Miss has lost six of its last seven. The Rebels had a chance to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, but fell Wednesday and lost to No. 18 South Carolina last Saturday, dropping two home games.
Alabama could help its NCAA Tournament seeding with an SEC regular-season championship.
UP NEXT
Alabama: Host No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday.
Mississippi: At Missouri on Saturday.
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‘We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.’
Bobcat stalks and strikes at Wisconsin turkey hunter
Turkey hunter Carson Bender of Wisconsin Rapids recorded a video of a bobcat that stalked and lunged at him as he hunted April 18, 2026 near Nekoosa, Wis.
Carson Bender
If a proposal made in the April meeting of the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is finalized, nonresident turkey hunters will see big changes in the 2027 spring turkey season.
“We’re doing this in a way to impact how hunting pressure occurs and how the harvest happens in the early season,” said Caleb Hinton, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re doing this to decrease the pressure we get early in the season. We’re trying to move that pressure on into later in the season.”
Turkey hunters enjoy a three-bird bag limit and a little more than six weeks of hunting in spring, which is similar to some other states. What is at issue is when it opens. March 15 is the typical opening date for the regular season, making it one of the earliest in the nation.
That early opening date combined with a growing trend among turkey hunters is where the problem lies.
Mississippi is a destination for early season, nonresident hunters
Possibly more than any other group of hunters, turkey hunters like to travel. For some, it may be a matter of seeing a different landscape and hunting birds under condions they don’t encounter in their home state. For others it may be a quest to harvest each of the subspecies in North America.
For yet another group, it’s the challenge of harvesting a gobbler in each of the 49 states that have turkeys.
“It seems to be getting more and more popular every year,” Hinton said.
Regardless of why a turkey hunter chooses to travel, it puts a target on Mississippi’s back because for the first few weeks of the season, it’s almost the only game in town, so hunters flock to the state.
In an effort to curb the amount of hunting pressure in those first weeks of turkey season, MDWFP proposed limiting nonresident hunters to two legal gobblers per season and only one of those can be harvested before April 1.
“Hopefully, it will help curb the massive influx of pressure we get the first week or two of the season,” Hinton said.
When will turkey season changes for nonresidents be voted on?
The proposed changes aren’t the first that have been geared toward alleviating pressure on turkeys in the early part of the season by nonresidents. In 2022, the commission passed a rule requiring nonresident hunters to enter a drawing for a hunt on public land during the first two weeks of turkey season. Currently, the number of hunters drawn is limited to 800.
Like that change, the current proposal will pass or fail by a vote of the wildlife commission. In the April commission meeting, the proposal passed an initial vote. It is now in a 30-day public comment period and a final vote will be taken in the May meeting.
Public comments may be submitted at https://www.mdwfp.com/proposed-rules-regulations.
A lifelong outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Brian Broom has been writing about hunting, fishing and Mississippi’s outdoors for the Clarion Ledger for more than 14 years. He can be reached at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
Mississippi
Mississippi high school addresses social media post, says it won’t tolerate racism or harassment
LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – A Mississippi high school has made a statement after a social media post involving a student surfaced.
Northeast Lauderdale High School officials say they’re reviewing a social media post involving a student.
In a statement, the school said administrators are aware of the post and are “reviewing the situation.”
The school said it is committed to maintaining a safe, orderly and respectful environment for students and staff.
“Neither our district nor our school accept or condone racism, discrimination, harassment, or behavior that is inconsistent with the expectations of our school community,” the statement said.
Officials said they are working with the appropriate parties and will address the matter in accordance with district policies and procedures.
The school added that it cannot share additional details because of student privacy laws.
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(This story was updated to add new information.)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball starting pitcher Ryan McPherson exited his May 9 return against Auburn with an ankle injury, according to coach Brian O’Connor.
McPherson tripped behind home plate while backing up a potential throw in the second inning and limped back to the mound. The MSU coaches and trainer examined McPherson before pulling him.
McPherson was making his first start since March 20 after suffering a forearm strain.
The No. 11 Bulldogs (38-14, 15-12 SEC) trailed the No. 6 Tigers (35-15, 16-11) by one run with one out in the inning before getting run-ruled 13-2 in seven innings at Dudy Noble Field.
McPherson threw 34 pitches in 1⅓ innings with one earned and one unearned run allowed, two hits, no walks and no strikeouts.
He did not throw a practice pitch while being examined, and he didn’t limp as he walked into the dugout, either.
Ryan McPherson injury update from Brian O’Connor
O’Connor revealed after the game that McPherson was on a 40-pitch limit, so he was likely going to get pulled soon anyway.
“I would hate for the young man to have a setback because he goes out there and tries to throw to another batter or two and changes this delivery because of an ankle (injury),” O’Connor said. “So that’s what went into that decision. It’s unfortunate, but it was good to get him back out there.”
McPherson, a sophomore, missed six straight starts with his forearm injury. He took Charlie Foster’s spot in the pitching rotation for the Auburn series.
One series remains at Texas A&M before the SEC Tournament.
“We’ll see how he recovers from this and then to see what his availability will be for next weekend,” O’Connor said.
Ryan McPherson stats
McPherson was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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