Josh Hubbard scored 23 points and Mississippi State outscored Utah by 16 points at the foul line to win 78-73 in the Mid-South Showdown on Sunday afternoon in Southaven, Miss.
KeShawn Murphy added 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs (4-0). Cameron Matthews scored 12 points, including five free throws in the final 1:13, and Riley Kugel also had 12 points.
Mississippi State made 24 of 33 free throws compared to 8 of 14 for the Utes (3-1).
Ezra Ausar scored 15 points, Mason Madsen had 14, Keanu Dawes added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Miro Little chipped in 10 points to lead Utah. Ausar and Dawes were among three Utes to foul out.
The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the second half to pull within 39-35. The Utes extended the lead to six points twice before Hubbard made two 3-pointers and a layup during a 12-0 run that gave Mississippi State a 50-44 lead.
Dawes made a layup to end Utah’s 4 1/2 scoring drought, and Madsen added a 3-pointer to get the Utes back within a point midway through the half.
Murphy made a free throw for the Bulldogs before Utah scored six straight points for a 55-51 lead.
The lead changed hands repeatedly before Hubbard’s layup tied the score at 60. The score was tied again and there were three more lead changes before Hubbard’s layup completed an 8-0 run that gave Mississippi State a 71-64 lead.
Dawes’ dunked, Madsen added a 3-pointer and Mike Sharavjamts hit a jumper to tie the score at 71 with 1:40 left.
Matthews made two free throws with 1:13 left, two more with 42 seconds left and one of two with 17 seconds left.
In the first half, the lead changed hands six times and the score was tied three times during the first 11 1/2 minutes.
Dawes scored five points in the Utes’ 14-4 burst to help the Utes take a 31-23 lead.
Later in the half, Mississippi State’s only points during a 4 1/2-minute stretch came on five free throws by Murphy, which trimme the lead to 33-28.
Little countered with consecutive 3-pointers to leave Utah with a 39-28 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
