Postgame Notes: State vs. Georgia

TEAM NOTES

State was handed a 102-96 defeat by Georgia during Saturday's regular season finale for both teams at Humphrey Coliseum.
Georgia won for the only the 2nd time in the last 9 meetings in the series since 2017-18. Overall, State and Georgia have split their 120 meetings on the hardwood.
The 96 points for State was its third-highest total in the series, while Georgia's 102 points set a new series mark.
State fired out of the gates by hitting 19-of-26 field goal attempts during the first 20 minutes. The 71.3 percent shooting clip was a new watermark for the Bulldogs in a half under Coach Jans.
State carried a 47-42 lead into halftime. However, Georgia scored 11 of the first 17 points to knot the score at 53-53 heading at the 15:55 mark of the second half.
Georgia relied heavily on the three-point shot. The Bulldogs canned 9 triples in the second half after they sank 8 treys during the opening stanza.
Georgia took its largest lead at 89-74 with 5:11 left after a Blue Cain three-pointer.
Josh Hubbard nearly brought State back as he dialed up a trio of three-pointers of his own. His last triple made it 100-96 with 19 seconds to go.
Georgia answered with two free throws to close out the 6-point decision.
State is 10-3 this season and 59-10 under Coach Jans when leading at the half.
State is 4-1 this season and 10-3 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when scoring 90 or more points.
State secured a 31-30 rebounding advantage as the Bulldogs are 9-6 this season and 57-21 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when outrebounding their opponent.
State finished the season at 8-8 and fell to 41-21 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans at Humphrey Coliseum.
State sank 38-of-65 from the floor (58.5 percent), hit on 9-of-23 from three-point territory (39.1 percent) and connected on a 11-of-13 clip at the free throw line (84.6 percent).
State hit on 26 of its 38 shots on the interior and dominated paint points by a 52-28 margin.
State is 6-2 this season and 26-8 over the last four seasons under Coach Jans when shooting 50 percent or higher.
Conversely, Georgia recorded a 31-of-62 shooting effort (50.0 percent), made 17-of-29 of its three-pointers (58.6 percent) and tallied a 23-for-26 mark at the charity stripe (88.5 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Josh Hubbard

Started his 81st consecutive game over the past three seasons (01/27/2024-03/07/2026) where he has led the team in scoring in 54 of those 81 outings.
Opened up scoring with a fastbreak runner off glass courtesy of a Quincy Ballard block on the defensive end.
Provided a team-leading and his second-highest scoring output with 42 points where he shot 16-of-27 overall, 7-of-15 on three-pointers and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
The junior guard now has 1925 career points which helped him pass Jim Ashmore (1954-55-56-57) for 4th place in all-time scoring at State. He also sits
Hubbard enters next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville 75 points shy from becoming the 29th player in league history to reach 2,000 career points. He currently sits in 39th place on the SEC's scoring list.
On State's list, he's 88 points away from passing Quinndary Weatherspoon (2016-17-18-19) for 3rd place.
The 1925 points allowed Hubbard to remain in 5th place on the SEC scoring list for players after their junior season. He enters next week's SEC Tournament 17 points shy of eclipsing LSU's Shaquille O'Neal (1990-91-92) for 4th place.
Hubbard's 685 points in 2025-26 allowed him to pass Bailey Howell for the 5th most in program history for a single season at State. The 685 points also are the most points scored by a State player during the 2000s.
Hubbard and Bailey Howell (1957-58-59) are 2 of 4 SEC players who have three of their program's top 10 scoring seasons at their schools.
Scored 40+ points for the 2nd time this season and for the 2nd time his career.
Provided 30+ points for a SEC-leading 7th time this season and for the 11th time in his career. He has collected 6 of his 11 outings of 30+ points this season where State is 7-4 in those contests.
Secured 20+ points for the 18th time this season and collected 28 of his 45 career outings against SEC opponents.
Notched double figures for a team-leading 29th time this season and for the 92nd time over his 100 career games.
The 92 games of 10+ points helped him pass Ray White (1976-77-78-79) and tie Barry Stewart (2007-08-09-10) for 4th place in program history.
The 7 treys enabled Hubbard to extend his program record. He now has 309 career three's which helped him pass Vanderbilt's John Jenkins (2010-11-12) to claim 10th place in SEC history.
Hubbard enters next week's SEC Tournament 3 triples shy of passing Alabama's John Petty (2018-19-20-21) for 9th place.
Drained multiple three's for the 8th straight game (02/11-03/07), the 23rd time this season and the 82nd time in his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 29th time this season and for the 82nd time in his career.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 4th time this season and the 7th time in his career.
The 16 field goals made for Hubbard marked a career-high.
Drained 10+ buckets for the 8th time this season and for the 12th time in his career.

Jayden Epps

Made his 8th consecutive start, his 22nd start this season and his 83rd career start between Illinois, Georgetown and State.
Tallied 13 points where he sank 6-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point territory.
Secured double-figures for the 21st time this season and the 83rd time in his career.
Notched 10+ points for the 12th time in 18 SEC outings (01/03-03/07).
Collected a team-high tying 6 rebounds and distributed 4 assists.
Led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the 1st time this season.
Grabbed 5+ rebounds for the 5th time this season and the 8th time in his career.
Dished out multiple assists for the 17th time this season and for the 70th time of his career.

Shawn Jones Jr.

After missing the Florida game due to injury, appeared in State's starting lineup for the 27th time in 30 games this season and for the 40th time in his career.
Provided 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Swiped multiple steals for the 12th time this season and the 31st time in his career.
Passed Marcus Grant (1992-93-94-95) and now has tallied 108 career steals which is tied for 28th place in program history with former teammate Dashawn Davis (2023-24).
Dished out multiple assists for the 13th time this season and for the 31st time in his career.

Achor Achor

Started for the 25th time this season and the 59th time in his career between Samford, Kansas State and Mississippi State
Added 4 points and 4 rebounds.

Quincy Ballard

Started for the 11th consecutive game, the 27th time this season and for the 94th time in his last 98 games over the last three seasons between Mississippi State and Wichita State.
Came away with a solid all-around effort of 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Swatted multiple shots for the 12th time this season and for the 57th time of his career.
Tallied a block in 14 of his last 19 outings (12/29-03/07), during 22 of State's 31 games this season and in 76 of 97 games over the last three seasons.
Swiped a career-high tying 2 steals, his 1st game at State and his 3rd career outing with multiple.
Dished out a season-high tying 2 assists, his 2nd game at State and his 8th career outing with multiple.

BENCH

Georgia outscored State's bench by a 41-27 margin.
Ja'Borri McGhee piled up a SEC season's best 20 points where he hit on 8-of-13 from the field, 1-of-2 from three and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Recorded 20+ points for the 2nd time this season and the 7th time in his career.
Both of his games of 20+ points have come off the bench.
Provided 10+ points for the 11th time this season and the 32nd time in his career.
The Bulldogs are 6-5 this season, while State and UAB are a combined 21-11 when McGhee dials up double figures.
Jamarion Davis-Fleming was involved in State's first substitution for the 9th time in the last 10 games and for a team-leading 19th time this season.
Came away with 4 points, a team-high tying 6 rebounds and a career-high equaling 2 assists.
Collected 5+ rebounds in 11 SEC games and for the 17th time this season.
Notched 4 of his 7 outings with multiple assists against SEC opponents.
Sergej Macura rounded out the scoring with 3 points for the Maroon and White.

Postgame Notes: State vs. Georgia

Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Sergej Macura

Ja’Borri McGhee

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Georgia

Related News

Players Mentioned

Achor Achor

Quincy Ballard

Jamarion Davis-Fleming

Jayden Epps

Josh Hubbard

Shawn Jones Jr.

Sergej Macura

Ja’Borri McGhee

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