Chris Jans, from his angle, thought RJ Melendez’s shot was going in. So did several players on the Mississippi State bench, who had a good look at the basketball as it bounced off the backboard right when the final buzzer sounded.
But instead of dropping through the net, the ball rolled along the right side of the rim before dropping harmlessly to the floor without touching nylon. And so the No. 25 Bulldogs, who had once trailed Arkansas by 16 points in the second half Saturday, saw their regular season end in heartbreaking fashion with a 93-92 loss to the Razorbacks in Fayetteville.
“I would have told you that ball was going in when it left his hand. It was the perfect angle and he used the backboard, and I’m like, ‘It’s in,’” Jans said. “I just feel awful for our team. These kids, on the road, obviously a tough place to play, had some struggles and got ourselves down pretty good, and they found a way to stick together and give themselves a chance to win the game.”
MSU (20-11, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) overcame Arkansas’ blistering start to the second half, finally stringing together some defensive stops and pulling ahead at three different points in the last four minutes. Josh Hubbard answered D.J. Wagner’s 3-pointer with one of his own to tie the game with 34 seconds left, and the Bulldogs were down by one when Cameron Matthews rebounded Jonas Aidoo’s missed second free throw with 11 seconds on the clock.
Without a timeout, MSU had to play for the game-winner, and Riley Kugel dribbled past Billy Richmond III inside the arc and put up a floater. But Richmond got back just in time to swat the shot away, and after Melendez collected the rebound, his final shot refused to fall.
“Some of our bench thought it was in and maybe even celebrated a bit too early. To my right, I noticed a couple bodies moving,” Jans said. “What do you do? Certainly we had to play better earlier. That’s what we just talked about. We’re just not consistent enough for long stretches, and I know it’s the end of the year and you want to be playing your best, and there’s no excuses at all.”
The Bulldogs led for most of the first half, but the Razorbacks (19-12, 8-10) used a 10-2 run to take a four-point lead, and the hosts were up by one at the break. Arkansas then seemingly could not miss early in the second half, making 12 of 13 shots and starting the half 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Wagner, Johnell Davis and Trevon Brazile were a combined 9-for-14 from deep.
MSU also struggled to stop big man Aidoo, the transfer from Tennessee who entered Saturday averaging just 5.2 points per game. Aidoo finished with 21 on 8-for-11 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds.
But after missing their first six shots of the second half, the Bulldogs found their rhythm. They turned the ball over just twice all game and had a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers. Claudell Harris Jr. led MSU with 18 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Hubbard added 17 points, and KeShawn Murphy, Cameron Matthews, Kugel and Melendez all finished in double figures as well.
The teams traded the lead down the stretch, with the Bulldogs going in front after a 12-0 run. A corner 3 from Melendez gave the visitors their last lead of the game before Wagner tied it with a pair of free throws, then Wagner exchanged 3-pointers with Hubbard prior to the final sequence.
MSU finished 8-10 in SEC play for the third straight year under Jans. The Bulldogs will be the No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, and will play No. 15 seed LSU in a first-round game Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“Today’s result isn’t what anyone wants,” Jans said. “Nobody wants to win any more than we do, but I have continued confidence in this group, maybe more after this game than I did coming into the game, just because of how they competed when it was go time (and) the chips were down. A lot of teams could have easily limped away.”
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