WATCH: Players Postgame Presser - Long Island
December 17, 2025 | Men's Basketball
STARKVILLE - Mississippi State's Jayden Epps and Sergej Macura talked to the media following State's 87-83 victory over Long Island.Â
2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Long Island– December 16, 2025
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Mississippi State Guard Jayden Epps and Forward Sergej Macura
Q: How has it been getting more comfortable coming back from injury trying to get back into a grove?
SM: "After the short injury I had, it was nothing special just needed to push through it. The staff did a great job helping me get back on the court. I feel like the last couple of weeks I have just been getting comfortable with the way we have been playing, faster pace, moving the ball. Just starting to feel good and trying to give Coach all the reason to let me play more and get confidence back to help my team out."
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Q: It was a close game all the way to the finish. What do you think was the difference in the last few minutes for you guys?
JE: "I feel like we played a good team. It's a good team no matter who you play on any given night. It's college basketball. Any team can come and step up. We made a few mistakes down the stretch, but I feel like we dug it out and we won. We stayed with it, we fought and we won."
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Q: It seems like every game you guys either struggle to maintain a lead or keep the building that lead. What do you think is the cause of that?
JE: "Like you said, staying locked in for the whole 40 minutes. Keeping our foot on the gas. We talk about it all the time, and we stress it to each other. It just goes back to the drawing board and seeing what we have to do when we have a lead or when we have a team where we can pull away and make the game where they can't come back. We have to just keep working on that and trying to stay locked in when we have a lead."
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Q: It's been two straight games where you guys have made the plays down the stretch to hold a team off. How much confidence does that give you all moving forward?
JE: "That's what we've been talking about. We're trying to find some momentum. We've been inconsistent, on and off, so we've been trying to find some momentum and try to stay consistent. Try to bring everybody together. Like Serge said, we've been in the gym trying to build our offense and build our comradery, which we have been doing all this summer and up until this point, but we have just been trying to keep getting better and keep with it."
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2025-26 Mississippi State Men's Basketball Postgame Quotes
Mississippi State vs. Long Island– December 16, 2025
Â
Mississippi State Guard Jayden Epps and Forward Sergej Macura
Q: How has it been getting more comfortable coming back from injury trying to get back into a grove?
SM: "After the short injury I had, it was nothing special just needed to push through it. The staff did a great job helping me get back on the court. I feel like the last couple of weeks I have just been getting comfortable with the way we have been playing, faster pace, moving the ball. Just starting to feel good and trying to give Coach all the reason to let me play more and get confidence back to help my team out."
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Q: It was a close game all the way to the finish. What do you think was the difference in the last few minutes for you guys?
JE: "I feel like we played a good team. It's a good team no matter who you play on any given night. It's college basketball. Any team can come and step up. We made a few mistakes down the stretch, but I feel like we dug it out and we won. We stayed with it, we fought and we won."
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Q: It seems like every game you guys either struggle to maintain a lead or keep the building that lead. What do you think is the cause of that?
JE: "Like you said, staying locked in for the whole 40 minutes. Keeping our foot on the gas. We talk about it all the time, and we stress it to each other. It just goes back to the drawing board and seeing what we have to do when we have a lead or when we have a team where we can pull away and make the game where they can't come back. We have to just keep working on that and trying to stay locked in when we have a lead."
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Q: It's been two straight games where you guys have made the plays down the stretch to hold a team off. How much confidence does that give you all moving forward?
JE: "That's what we've been talking about. We're trying to find some momentum. We've been inconsistent, on and off, so we've been trying to find some momentum and try to stay consistent. Try to bring everybody together. Like Serge said, we've been in the gym trying to build our offense and build our comradery, which we have been doing all this summer and up until this point, but we have just been trying to keep getting better and keep with it."
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Players Mentioned
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