D.J. Wagner scored 24 points and Jonas Aidoo racked up a season-high 21 — including the deciding free throw with 11 seconds left — as Arkansas outlasted No. 25 Mississippi State 93-92 on Saturday afternoon in both teams’ regular-season Southeastern Conference finale in Fayetteville, Ark.
Both the Razorbacks (19-12, 8-10 SEC) and the Bulldogs (20-11, 8-10) are expected to earn at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament but could improve their seeding with a successful run through the SEC tournament next week in Nashville, Tenn.
Arkansas led by just a point after a first half that featured four ties and 10 lead changes and pulled away with a 10-0 run to begin the second half. The Razorbacks pushed their advantage to 16 before Mississippi State rallied, regaining the lead at 84-83 on Riley Kugel’s 3-pointer with 3:14 left.
A pair of free throws by Arkansas’ Johnell Davis with 1:23 remaining tied the game at 89. Wagner and the Bulldogs’ Josh Hubbard traded 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, with Hubbard’s shot with 33.7 seconds left knotting the game at 92.
Aidoo converted one of two free throws with 11 seconds to play, giving Arkansas the lead but also leaving open the door for the Bulldogs. Kugel had a layup blocked by Billy Richmond III and R.J. Melendez missed a putback attempt at the buzzer to allow the Razorbacks to escape with the victory.
Aidoo also had 10 rebounds while Davis scored 15 points, Trevon Brazile added 11 points and 11 rebounds and Richmond finished with 10 points and two blocked shots for Arkansas, which has won two straight and four of its past five.
Claudell Harris Jr. led Mississippi State with 18 points, with Hubbard adding 17, KeShawn Murphy and Cameron Matthews scoring 13 apiece, Kugel hitting for 12 and Melendez tallying 10. The Bulldogs have lost two straight and four of their last five.
The Razorbacks led by four after two free throws by Aidoo with one minute left before halftime but needed two more from the charity stripe by Wagner to earn a 45-44 advantage at the break.
Hubbard led all scorers with 12 points before halftime while Aidoo and Wagner paced Arkansas with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
–Field Level Media
