Mississippi State
5-5,0-0SEC
Utah
7-4,0-0Big 12
The Final Horn: State 82, Utah 74
December 13, 2025 | Men's Basketball
THE BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State erased a 17-point deficit to steal an 82-74 victory from Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. The Utes jumped out to an early advantage, led 40-23 in the waning moments of the first half and held a 42-32 halftime edge. However, the Bulldogs kept battling. Midway through the second half, State used a 15-0 run to flip momentum and take a 60-56 lead with 9:24 remaining, setting up a tight battle the rest of the way.
MSU fell back behind, 70-67, with a little under five minutes to play. But a Josh Hubbard layup followed by a pair of Ja'Borri McGhee buckets put the Dawgs back up by five with just 2:36 remaining. With under two minutes to go, Hubbard responded to a Utah bucket with a floater of his own, bringing the score to 76-72. After MSU forced a turnover, a Shawn Jones Jr. dunk gave State more breathing room with 59 seconds left and ultimately iced the game for the Dawgs.
KEY NUMBERS: McGhee exploded for a career-high 29 points on the night, shooting 11-for-16 from the field and 5-for-7 from downtown. Jayden Epps scored 20 points of his own while Hubbard chipped in 13. Quincy Ballard protected the rim with seven rebounds and three blocks in the effort. As a unit, the Bulldog bench stepped up and outscored the Utes' reserves 39-12. The State defense forced 14 turnovers in the contest and capitalized with 22 points off those takeaways.
NEXT UP FOR MSU: The Bulldogs will host Long Beach State on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at Humphrey Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed via SEC Network+.
