Mississippi State
17-8,6-6SEC
Arkansas
12-13,3-9SEC
Dawgs Down Hogs In Tough Battle
February 17, 2024 | Men's Basketball
State tops Arkansas 71-67.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State held off Arkansas to pick up its third-consecutive victory with a gutsy 71-67 win on Saturday afternoon at the Humphrey Coliseum. In a nip-and-tuck affair, the Bulldogs' grit was too much for the Razorbacks to overcome.
"I feel great about how [we] won, but I told [the team] in the locker room, 'Don't let anyone out there take away what you did today,'" head coach Chris Jans said. "Winning college basketball games is hard."
The Dawgs got off to a hot start on both ends of the court in the first half, claiming the lead less than two minutes into the matchup. They made eight of their first 10 shots and played dominant defense to force multiple turnovers by the Hogs.
Starting forward Tolu Smith III scored State's first bucket of the game on a tough layup and ultimately led the team at halftime with seven points, but eight different Bulldogs found the basket over the course of the first 20 minutes of action. Cameron Matthews had six points, and Josh Hubbard had five prior to the intermission.
State shot 50-percent from the floor in the opening frame, and 24 of the team's 34 first-half points came in the paint. MSU carried a 34-29 lead into the locker room.
Both teams were locked in a heated battle through much of the second half. The Dawgs and Hogs traded blows and the lead, with neither team being able to pull away.
With just over seven minutes remaining in a tied game, Shakeel Moore snagged an offensive rebound and sank a deep 3-pointer to electrify the Hump and put momentum back on the home team's side.
Matthews and Hubbard made crucial shots under the basket in the final two minutes to keep the game tied, and the freshman added a swishing three with less than a minute remaining to give State a one-point lead.
"We knew we were down with close to a minute left and we just knew that we had to get a quick bucket," Hubbard said. "We just ran what the defense gave us and took the shot."
MSU stood tall on defense in the final minute of the game. Matthews snagged a massive defensive rebound on a missed shot by the visiting team, and Moore grabbed the biggest steal of the night in the paint to preserve the Bulldogs' one-point lead with less than 10 seconds remaining.
"I knew he was going to drive one way and get crowded and spin the opposite way, so I just took the chance and took the risk to steal the ball," Moore said.
The guard sank two free throws in the final 7.7 seconds to give his team a three-point advantage.
Matthews added a point from the charity stripe with one second left to wrap the game in Maroon and White.
Hubbard led State with 19 points, and Matthews posted his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Both also had three assists. Moore was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He ended the afternoon with nine points. Smith finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
As a team, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Razorbacks 42 to 27 and made 48 percent of their shots.
DJ Jeffries made his return to the court for the first time since suffering an injury two weeks ago. He saw three minutes of action in the first half.
Up next, Mississippi State will attempt to stay hot against its instate rival. The Bulldogs host Ole Miss on Wednesday. Tip is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
