Hubbard scores 23, Matthews hits big free throws and Mississippi State tops Utah 78-73

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) Josh Hubbard scored 23 points, Cameron Matthews made several key free throws down the stretch and Mississippi State rallied in the second half to defeat Utah 78-73 on Sunday in the Mid-South Showdown.

KeShawn Murphy scored 18 points, Matthews 12, with 8 of 10 from the line, and Ryan Kugel scored 12 for the Bulldogs. Murphy had 14 rebounds.

Matthews made two free throws on back-to-back possessions to put the Bulldogs up 75-71 in the final minute. After a Utes miss, their defensive pressure forced Mississippi State to call timeout twice. Utah then fouled Matthews again. He made one of two, then Kugel got an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.

Ezra Ausar led Utah with 15 points. Mason Madsen scored 14, Keanu Dawes 13 and Miro Little 10. Dawes had 12 rebounds.

Hubbard scored 11 points and Murphy had seven as the Bulldogs stormed back from an 11-point halftime deficit to lead 50-44 with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. The Utes regrouped and went ahead by four before a string of seven lead changes in the next three minutes.

Utah controlled the first half, building an 11-point lead at the intermission. The Utes outscored the Bulldogs 24-11 over the second 10 minutes of the half, with Dawes scoring seven points and Little capping the run with two 3-pointers.

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