Mississippi State
9-5,1-0SEC
Texas
9-5,0-1SEC
The Final Horn: State 101, Texas 98
January 03, 2026 | Men's Basketball
THE BOTTOM LINE – Mississippi State opened SEC play in Austin with a thrilling 101-98, overtime victory over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday evening. Josh Hubbard had a monster night to lead the way to the Bulldog triumph.
Hubbard came out hot with seven early points to give the Bulldogs a quick boost. Later, State ignited a 9-0 run over a 2:56 span to take a 27-21 lead at the under-8 timeout. Hubbard finished the first half with 20 points, and the Bulldogs held a 48-43 edge at the break.
The second half remained tight over the full 20 minutes as the two programs traded blows back and forth. As the game entered crunch time, Jayden Epps sank three free throws with State down by four to bring the Dawgs within one, 80-79, at the 3:10 mark. But from there, the Longhorns sparked a quick 6-0 run to extend their lead to seven with 2:17 left. State was able to rally. Two free throws from Achor Achor, and then a wild lose ball recovered by Achor ended up with a huge three from Hubbard with 1:02 left to make it 86-84. Then, with the game on the line, State got a huge defensive stop, and Brandon Walker made a putback layup to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the offense kept its rhythm and was able to keep producing down the stretch. After MSU claimed a 96-90 lead, Texas fought back and tied the game on a steal and make with a minute left. However Hubbard stepped up once again with a trey that rekindled a three-point advantage for State with 39.2 seconds to play. A pair of trips to the charity stripe helped the Longhorns pull back within one, but the Longhorns were unable to pull back even. Hubbard was fouled with 6.8 seconds left and calmly hit both of his free throws to put State back up 101-98 and ultimately ice the game.
KEY NUMBERS – Hubbard and Epps combined for 65 points and nine triples to lead the offense for the Bulldogs, with both picking up huge buckets throughout the contest. Hubbard's 38 tied his career high which he set last January against No. 4 Alabama. Achor had a huge impact off the bench with 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in the win. The boards proved to be crucial as State out-rebounded the Longhorns by a 47-39 margin. The victory extends the Bulldogs' win streak to five games as they advance to 1-0 in SEC play and 2-0 in true road games.
NEXT UP FOR MSU – The Bulldogs return to the Hump to host Oklahoma in their SEC home opener on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air on SEC Network.
