The Final Horn: No. 21 State 70, No. 7 Texas A&M 54

Tuesday, February 18

Starkville

6 p.m.

Mississippi State

19-7,7-6SEC

#7 Texas A&M

20-6,9-4SEC

Texas A&M

Mississippi St.

The Final Horn: No. 21 State 70, No. 7 Texas A&M 54

February 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman

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A quick rundown of MSU’s victory over the Aggies.

By: Joel Coleman, Senior Writer

THE BOTTOM LINE: An absolutely dominant second half paved the way for Mississippi State as the No. 21 Bulldogs took down No. 7 Texas A&M 70-54 on Tuesday night in Starkville. MSU, after trailing by one at the half, outscored the Aggies 40-23 over the final 20 minutes to claim the massive victory. A 14-3 State run out of the intermission provided the Dawgs with a double-digit advantage and set the tone for the rest of the game. The Aggies did pull back to within four with about nine minutes left. However, State responded in a big way down the stretch, thanks in large part to the heating up of Claudell Harris Jr. Harris hit a trio of 3s and scored 12 of his 15 total points over the last 6:24 of action to give his team plenty of cushion on the way to the triumph. The win improves MSU to 19-7 overall this season and 7-6 in Southeastern Conference action.

KEY NUMBERS: While it's easy to point to the late production of Harris, as well as Josh Hubbard's team-high 25 points, the Dawg defense made sure the MSU offensive performances stood up. State held A&M to just 28 percent shooting as a team in the second half. The Bulldogs were able to build their lead out of the halftime break by limiting the Aggies to just three made baskets in their first 18 second-half shots. Turnovers were also crucial. Texas A&M had 14 of them in the second half and 19 total, leading to 22 of State's points.

NEXT UP FOR THE DAWGS: Mississippi State will look for a third straight win as the Bulldogs travel to face another SEC foe. MSU battles Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tip time at the Lloyd Noble Center is set for noon CT and the game will be televised by SEC Network.

HIGHLIGHTS:

RJ TREY #HailState🐶| 📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/s0Y6a1TIaa
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 19, 2025

BIG MAN EFFORT. #HailState🐶 x 📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/tIBSNaeSDn
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 19, 2025

The step back 😮‍💨#HailState🐶 x 📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/jGH7CAt0y1
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 19, 2025

Murph 🤌

9-0 run for State! Timeout A&M!#HailState🐶 x 📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/0Zjt8Mxwoh
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) February 19, 2025