Clutch shots at end push Hogs past Mississippi State, 64-55

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Up one with 2:07 to play, Jaylin Williams, Davonte Davis and Chris Lykes hit three big shots to lead Arkansas to a 63-55 win over Mississippi State for the Arkansas’ eighth-straight win Saturday night at Bud Walton Arena.

The Razorbacks improved to 18-5 overall, 7-3 in the SEC while Mississippi State drops to 14-8, 5-4.

Prior to the trio of baskets, Arkansas pushed its lead to nine (53-44) with 6:03 to play before the Bulldogs cut their deficit to one (53-52) on a Garrison Brooks dunk.

On the ensuing possession, Williams drained a 3-pointer. Tolu Smith answered with two free throws. Then, with two seconds on the shot clock, Davis hit a clutch jumper at the top of the key.

Williams grabbed a defensive rebound and Lykes sank a 3-pointer on the right wing with 25 ticks left to secure the win.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half with Arkansas shooting just 26.7% and Miss State 34.8%. However, in the second half, the Razorbacks made 48% of their shots from the field and 50% (3-of-6) from 3-point range while holding the Bulldogs to 35.7%.

Arkansas was led by JD Notae with 14 points and four assists while Williams and Lykes each scored 10. Williams added nine rebounds while Lykes contributed two steals.

Iverson Molinar paced the Bulldogs with a game=high 19 points and Brooks recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Arkansas stays home to host top-ranked Auburn (Feb. 8). Tipoff is set for 6 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 25 – Miss State: 25

• Arkansas led by eight (20-12) at 7:55 but only scored one field goal over the next 7-plus minutes as Miss State tied the game at 23-23. The teams traded baskets to end the half to provide the 25-25 score at the break.

• JD Notae led the hogs with eight points and two steals.

• Kamani Johnson had five rebounds off the bench, including three offensive.

• Arkansas only committed two first-half turnovers.

• Iverson Molinar led the Bulldogs with 10 points and Garrison Brooks had five rebounds.

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• The teams each made just ne 3-pointer and combined to go 1-of-19 from deep. Arkansas was 1-of-13 and Miss State 1-of-6. Overall, Arkansas shot just 26.7% and Miss State was just 34.8%.

SECOND HALF: Arkansas: 38 – Miss State: 30

• Arkansas got a stop and quick score to open the second half.

• Arkansas went on an 8-0 run, thanks to four points by Chris Lykes, to take a 53-44 lead at 5:57 to force a Bulldogs timeout. Arkansas held Miss State scoreless for nearly five minutes (1-of-8 shooting) until a 3-pointer by Garrison Brooks at 4:09.

GAME NOTES

• Arkansas’ starting lineup was JD Notae – Au’Diese Toney – Stanley Umude – Trey Wade –Jaylin Williams for the seventh straight game.

• Mississippi State won the opening tip.

• MSU’s Tolu Smith scored the games’ first points, two free throws at 19:44. Jaylin Williams scored Arkansas’ first points on a layup at 19:20.

• Davonte Davis was the first Razorback sub.

• Arkansas owns a 35-32 advantage in the series versus Miss State and are 23-8 versus the Bulldogs in Fayetteville.

• After being out-rebounded 39-31 at Mississippi State, Arkansas won the battle of the boards, 39-38.

• After committing 17 turnovers at Mississippi State, Arkansas only committed six. The total was the lowest by Arkansas in an SEC game and the fifth time the Hogs had single-digit turnovers this season.

• Arkansas is 2-0 this year when avenging a loss and 8-1 all-time under Coach Musselman.

• Jaylin Williams took two charges to give him 32 on the season.

• During the eight-game win streak, Arkansas has held seven opponents to shooting below 40% from the field and below 31% from 3-point range while holding six to below 60 points.

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• Arkansas has held five SEC teams under 60 points this season after holding four SEC teams under 60 in Musselman’s first 2 seasons combined. The last time Arkansas held at least five SEC teams under 60 in a season was 2006-07 (6 times). (HogStats)

• Arkansas has now won the last three times in which it scored below 65 points including 63 vs Miss State (2/5/2022), 64 at Ole Miss, (1/26/2022) and vs Miss State (2/2/2021). Arkansas is now 12-7 when scoring 69 or fewer points. However, Arkansas is 42-0 when holding opponents to 69 points or fewer. Specifically, Arkansas is 12-0 when holding opponents between 50 and 59 points.

• The last time Arkansas won three straight when scoring below 65 points was prior to the shot clock er when the Hogs scored 64 vs Oral Roberts (12/22/1984), 56 vs Minnesota (12/20/1984) and 59 vs Central Florida (11/27/1984). (HogStats)

• JD Notae and Iverson Molinar have each scored double-digits in all their games this season (22), which are the two best streaks this season.

• Notae regained his top spot in the league for scoring. He and Vandy’s Scotty Pippen Jr., both average an SEC-best 18.73 ppg and both have scored 412 points. In SEC games only, Molinar leads at 20.56 ppg (185 pts) and Notae is second at 20.11 ppg (181 pts).

• This was the first game of the Eric Musselman era that the game was tied at halftime. It is just the fourth time a Musselman-coached collegiate team has been tied at halftime. Coach Muss is now 3-1 in such games.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.