Mississippi
RJ Melendez scores 19 as No. 14 Mississippi State beats Vandy 76-64 for 8th straight win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — RJ Melendez scored 19 points and No. 14 Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt 76-64 on Tuesday night for its eighth straight victory.
The Bulldogs (14-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) came in with their highest ranking yet under coach Chris Jans. They leave having won six of eight in this series.
Cameron Matthews added 16 points and Claudell Harris Jr. had 13 for Mississippi State.
Vanderbilt (13-2, 1-1) was trying to start 2-0 in league play for the first time since 2016-17. Mississippi State snapped the Commodores’ seven-game win streak under first-year coach Mark Byington.
AJ Hoggard scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half trying to rally Vandy. Grant Huffman added 14 and Tyler Nickel had 10.
Takeaways
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs know how to get inside, dominating with a 42-30 scoring difference in the paint. They also hit their first 12 free throws, finishing 16 of 19 at the line.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores were ice cold for too much of the game. They missed 11 of their final 12 shots to end the first half and made one of their first 11 to start the second. That helped the Bulldogs lead 39-28 at halftime and by as much as 56-34 within the first six minutes of the second.
Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews (4) shoots the ball past Vanderbilt guard Jaylen Carey (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/George Walker IV
Key moment
Hoggard’s layup pulled Vanderbilt to 65-60 with 4:19 left, but then the Commodores had another scoring drought. Harris hit a 3-pointer and Matthews dunked with 2:04 left to seal the win.
Key stat
Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, went scoreless in 11 minutes. He missed all eight shots, including five inside the arc.
Up next
Mississippi State hosts No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday night.
Vanderbilt goes to Missouri on Saturday before returning for two home games.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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