Tai’Reon Joseph scored 27 points and Bandon Davis had five of his 12 points during a closing 12-0 run as Southern stunned No. 21 Mississippi State 60-59 on Sunday in Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State seemed to take control with a 59-48 lead on a dunk by D.J. Jeffries with 4:28 remaining, but the Bulldogs didn’t score again, missing their last six shots while the Jaguars (2-6) made four of their last five.
Davis’ layup gave the Jaguars a one-point lead with 23 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs (6-2) missed a shot, but got an offensive rebound and called timeout with nine seconds left. Joseph then blocked Josh Hubbard’s field-goal attempt.
Hubbard scored 14 points and Cameron Matthews added 12 for the Bulldogs, who lost their second straight, including a 67-59 loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Jalen Reynolds made a layup to start the second-half scoring and pull the Jaguars within one point, but the Bulldogs scored the next seven points to lead 38-30.
Joseph answered with a 3-pointer, and he later added another field goal to get Southern within 43-41.
But Dashawn Davis made consecutive baskets as Mississippi State expanded its lead to 10 points midway through the half.
Tidjiane Dioumassi scored three straight points for the Jaguars, but Hubbard’s three-point play and Matthews’ dunk produced a 12-point advantage before the Bulldogs went cold.
Mississippi State scored the first five points of the game and opened a 9-2 lead as Southern failed to make a field goal during the first four minutes.
Joseph made the Jaguars’ first basket and added another during a 9-0 run that gave them an 11-9 lead.
The score was tied twice and the lead changed hands seven times before Hubbard made two free throws to give the Bulldogs a 24-19 lead.
Joseph answered with six straight points as Southern regained the lead 25-24. Three more lead changes took place before Shawn Jones Jr.’s dunk gave Mississippi State a 31-28 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
