Mississippi State outlasts Memphis in crunch time

Shawn Jones Jr. scored four points in the final 1:26 to lift Mississippi State to a 71-66 nonconference win over Memphis Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

With the Bulldogs (7-5) clinging to a two-point lead, Josh Hubbard made a steal and pushed the ball down court to Jones for a dunk.

The Tigers (4-7) turned the ball over again on the next possession and Jones made them pay with a layup to give the Bulldogs a 69-63 lead.

Curtis Givens III hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left that cut the lead to three points. Then, Memphis stole an inbounds pass with a chance to tie but threw the ball away.

Hubbard, who finished with 17 points, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a five-point lead.

Jayden Epps led the Bulldogs with 19 points, and Givens had 18 to lead the Tigers.

The Bulldogs led 34-30 at halftime, but the first half was not exactly how either coach drew it up.

The Bulldogs hit only 11-of-28 field goals (39 percent), and the Tigers only made 11-of-32 field goals (34 percent).

Both teams had eight turnovers. The Bulldogs barely outrebounded the Tigers 22-21.

The most exciting play of the half came at the buzzer. Sincere Parker grabbed a rebound and heaved a shot from half court that found the net to cut the Bulldogs lead to four at the break.

The Bulldogs led for most of the first half, going on a 14-4 run in the early minutes.

The Tigers went on a scoring drought for 2:26 of the run and didn't have a field goal for more than five minutes, going 0-for-8.

Achor Achor and Epps capped off the run with back-to-back layups for a 14-4 lead with 13:25 left.

Givens finally ended the drought for the Tigers with a 19-foot jumper.

The Bulldogs had a drought of their own a few minutes later, not scoring for 2:26.

The Tigers took advantage as Tariq Ingraham scored on a layup, and Aaron Bradshaw nailed a 17-foot jumper to cut the lead to 20-14.

Epps hit a 3-pointer to make it 23-14 Bulldogs. Then, Ashton Hardaway hit a 3-pointer and Bradshaw dunked an offensive rebound to make it 24-21 with 4:16 left.