Former Holmes CC star Daryl Macon scored 24 points for Arkansas, but that wasn’t enough to propel his Razorbacks over the Mississippi State Bulldogs Tuesday night in Starkville.
The Bulldogs held on late to secure the 78-75 win to move to 1-0 in SEC play.
Mississippi State (13-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) built off its best start during non-conference play in years, rallying for the win after trailing for much of the second half. Abdul Ado added eight points and nine rebounds and hit a crucial putback after grabbing an offensive rebound with 39 seconds remaining.
“We never gave up,” Nick Weatherspoon said. “Every time we were in a timeout, Coach (Ben) Howland told us not to give up.”
Arkansas (11-3, 1-1) was playing its first game in the AP’s national rankings since March 2015. The Razorbacks came in averaging more than 90 points per game, but Mississippi State slowed the pace and took a 32-28 lead into halftime.
Arkansas rallied to take the lead just after halftime and held the advantage for the majority of the second half. The Razorbacks shot 64.5 percent in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Bulldogs, who grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 16 points off them.
Mississippi State also enjoyed a huge advantage at the free-throw line, shooting 40 attempts to Arkansas’ 12.
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said the free-throw disparity was difficult to overcome, but it wasn’t the only reason the Razorbacks lost the game.
“Mississippi State got some timely offensive rebounds and made some plays and we had some miscues going down the stretch,” Anderson said. “We’ve been better at that, and I thought we’d be better at it tonight, but it didn’t happen. A couple turnovers took place.
“But credit to Mississippi State, they did what they’re supposed to do.”
Arkansas had a few chances to pull ahead during the final minutes, but was called for an offensive foul and a traveling violation on crucial possessions.
Macon shot 9 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. (AP)
