Auburn erased an 18-point second-half deficit but Mississippi State closed the game on an 18-5 run to hold on for a 91-85 victory on Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
A 24-5 overall run allowed Auburn to storm back and take a seven-point lead with under four minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs made five of their last seven shots. Meanwhile, Auburn was 1-for-8 during that same span as Mississippi State used a 12-1 run to close out the game.
The SEC’s leading scorer, Josh Hubbard, exploded for 35 first-half points — outscoring the Tigers by himself and hitting 9 threes. It was the most points scored in a half since 2020, and his 9 triples set a program record.
Though Auburn held him at bay in the second stanza, Hubbard finished with a game-high 46 points and hit a corner trey with under a minute to go that delivered the dagger to Auburn.
“This was devastating. You can’t let someone score 46 points and expect to win,” head coach Steven Pearl said. “It was a great comeback, and we showed a lot of grit, a lot of fight, but we have to do a better job as a staff of being up seven with four minutes left.”
Keyshawn Hall led Auburn with 29 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, while Tahaad Pettiford logged his fourth straight game scoring 20+ points with 21 and four assists. Overton added 15 points for Auburn’s third player in double figures.
Auburn faced a 21-6 deficit early in the game after Hubbard buried a trio of threes and recorded a lone 9-0 run. Hall kept the Tigers within fighting distance, scoring 14 early points and igniting an 8-0 run to trim it to single digits.
Hubbard had 21 points at the under-8 timeout, and Mississippi State held a 16-point advantage at the break.
Auburn trailed by 18 at just two minutes into the second half, but used a 20-4 run – ignited by the trio of Hall, Pettiford, and Overton, who connected on a pair of triples — to take its first lead with 8:50 left on the clock.
The lead changed seven times, but Mississippi State took over down the stretch.
The Tigers return to Neville Arena in Auburn this Saturday to host Kentucky in its annual AUTLive game. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. TG
