Mississippi

What brought RJ Melendez to tears after Mississippi State basketball’s OT loss to Texas

Published

1 year ago

March 5, 2025

What brought RJ Melendez to tears after Mississippi State basketball’s OT loss to Texas

STARKVILLE — RJ Melendez walked into the press conference room in Humphrey Coliseum with red, watery eyes. He took a seat next to Shawn Jones Jr. at the podium and covered his face with his shirt for a brief moment, fighting back tears.

Mississippi State basketball had just suffered an 87-82 overtime loss to Texas (17-13, 6-11 SEC) on Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum. After charging out of a 12-point hole in the second half, the Bulldogs (20-10, 8-9) never held a lead in overtime, but were tied with 38 seconds remaining.

Melendez, when asked why he was so emotional, quickly pointed ahead to MSU’s regular season finale at Arkansas (18-12, 7-10) on Saturday (11 a.m., SEC Network).

“Arkansas,” he said. “We just got to go onto the next one. That game’s over. We just got ready for a tough road win, and then everybody loves March. It’s just a beautiful thing to be a part of and looking forward to it.”

Mississippi State was down by nine points with 3:52 remaining in regulation but closed the half on an 11-2 run. It forced overtime when Melendez, a senior forward who transferred from Georgia, stole an inbounds pass on a full-court press. His pass to Riley Kugel for an open layup tied the game with nine seconds remaining.

Melendez scored 15 points with eight rebounds, three assists, one block, and two steals.

“Our locker room was very somber to say the least,” MSU coach Chris Jans said. “We’ve obviously lost plenty of games this year, but I know that was a hard one to swallow for all of us.”

Mississippi State hasn’t been able to capture momentum in SEC play

On paper, this looked like the easiest stretch of Mississippi State’s SEC schedule. It was closing the regular season with three consecutive unranked opponents, the first time that’s happened since mid-December, so it could be the perfect crescendo into the SEC tournament and then the NCAA tournament.

“This is March, right?” Jans said. “That’s what everybody’s searching for.”

MSU took care of business with an 81-69 win against LSU on March 1 after a 38-point loss at Alabama but stumbled again against Texas.

It’s another instance where MSU hasn’t been able to string together wins in SEC play. It hasn’t lost three consecutive conference games but hasn’t won three in a row either. Each time it seems like the Bulldogs have turned a corner, like the back-to-back ranked wins against Ole Miss and Texas A&M two weeks ago, they lay a dud.

“I was hoping that we could win back-to-back games at home and have some momentum going into our last road meeting, which is obviously a very difficult place to play,” Jans said. “What these kids have shown me, this group in particular, is their mental toughness, their resilience, their belief in one another. I know they’re going to regroup and get ready for one last road trip before Nashville.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for April 19, 2026

Published

55 minutes ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for April 19, 2026

The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from April 19 drawing

01-07-11-30-34

Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 3 numbers from April 19 drawing

Midday: 7-4-6, FB: 5

Evening: 3-3-0, FB: 8

Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 4 numbers from April 19 drawing

Midday: 3-4-8-9, FB: 5

Evening: 6-2-0-4, FB: 8

Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 19 drawing

Midday: 10

Evening: 08

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Story continues below gallery.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.

Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:

Mississippi Lottery Corporation

P.O. Box 321462

Flowood, MS

39232

If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.

Mississippi Lottery Headquarters

1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100

Flowood, MS

39232

Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.

When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?

Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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