STARKVILLE, Miss — Tai’Reon Joseph scored 27 points and blocked Mississippi State's final shot as Southern closed on a 12-0 run to stun the No. 21 Bulldogs 60-59 on Sunday.
Down 59-48 with 4:28 remaining, the Jaguars (2-6) took the lead with 23 seconds left on Brandon Davis' layup. With three seconds left, Joseph blocked Josh Hubbard’s shot to hand Mississippi State (6-2) its second straight loss.
Joseph was 11 of 21 from the field. Davis had 12 points — five during the 12-0 run.
Hubbard led Mississippi State with 14 points, and Cameron Matthews had 12. The Bulldogs also lost at Georgia Tech on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Mississippi State led 9-2 lead, but the Jaguars hung around the rest of the half and had several leads. Following Joseph's 3-pointer, Southern led 19-17 with 7:16 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs closed the half on a 5-1 spurt to lead 31-28.
BIG PICTURE
Southern: The Jaguars have faced a tough non-conference schedule to help finance the athletic department, also playing at No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Marquette and No. 24 Illinois. Their other victory of the season was at UNLV.
Mississippi State: Due to the fall semester finals schedule, the Bulldogs get a longer-than-normal break in the schedule. Mississippi State doesn’t play again until Saturday and has just one more Power Five team (Rutgers) left on the non-conference schedule.
UP NEXT
Southern: Hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.
Mississippi State: Vs. Tulane on Saturday in Atlanta in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.
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