The Final Horn: No. 14 State 65, South Carolina 60 – Mississippi State Athletics

The bottom line: Road wins in Southeastern Conference play are always so incredibly valuable, and No. 14 Mississippi State now has another one after topping South Carolina 65-60 in overtime at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday. In another contest certainly not for the faint of heart, the Bulldogs dug deep and pulled it out, holding off a late Gamecock surge. MSU never trailed in the contest and led by 14 points. However, South Carolina mounted a rally in the final 10 minutes of regulation, tying things at 55-all in the closing seconds to force an extra period. In overtime, the Dawgs didn’t allow a Gamecocks field goal until the final second and State scored eight of its 10 points in the frame from the free throw line to seal the win. The win improves MSU to 16-4 overall and 4-3 in league action this season.

Key numbers: DAWG’s defense delivered to help wrap up this low-scoring affair in the Maroon and White. MSU limited South Carolina to just 29.3 percent shooting as a team and held the Gamecocks to just 1-for-6 from the field in OT. MSU’s 10 steals accounted for more than half of South Carolina’s 19 turnovers. State capitalized on those turnovers with 18 of them. separately, Riley Kugel led the way for MSU with his 15 points. Four other Bulldogs joined him with double figures as Keshaun Murphy scored 13 and Josh Hubbard a total of 12 while Michael Nwoko and Claudel Harris Jr represents 11 in number.

Next up for the Dawgs: Mississippi State returns home for a big first-time game. MSU hosts the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday, January 29th. Tip time at Humphrey Coliseum is set for 8:00 p.m., and the game will be televised by the SEC Network.

Highlights:

Hubb starts us off with trey‼️#Hailstate🐶 | @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/fc8xg78erd

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

Mike with authority 😤

1H | 15:08
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 »7
Sc » 2#Hailstate🐶 | 📺 @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/cils9b3ymp

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

Defense of the offense.#Hailstate🐶 | 📺 @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/nxglwtmnyh

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

Kugel against the clock 🎯

1H | 0:42
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 »26
Sc »20#Hailstate🐶 | 📺 @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/14xsdoe8c0

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

Murph Flight ✈#Hailstate🐶 | 📺 @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/isngrlpnzc

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

Big Shot Cladell Harris 🤫

2H| 4:24
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 »53
Sc »44#Hailstate🐶 | 📺 @Secnetwork pic.twitter.com/pr9pwa4fmr

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025

The oak road!#Hailstate🐶 pic.twitter.com/svgnvwe85i

— Mississippi Men’s Basketball (@HailStateMBK) January 25, 2025