In a back-and-forth battle between two winless, road-weary rivals, Jackson State had the better finishing touch and earned the bragging rights.

Jayme Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining put Jackson State ahead, and it held on to beat Alcorn State 72-69 on Saturday.

Keiveon Hunt led Jackson State (1-13, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) with 20 points. Daeshun Ruffin scored 16, and Mitchell had 13.

Marcus Tankersley had a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds for Alcorn (1-13, 0-1), while Djahi Binet scored 10 points.

Former Vicksburg High star Davian Williams came off the bench to scored nine points for the Braves on 4-of-8 shooting.
Jackson State led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but Alcorn started the second with an 8-0 spurt to get to within one. Neither team led by more than four points after the opening minute of the second half.

Mitchell’s 3-pointer gave JSU a 64-62 lead. Ruffin made a layup and two free throws in the final 32 seconds to keep the Tigers ahead.

Alcorn State was playing its first home game of the season, while Jackson State has yet to play one. Both teams had punishing non-conference schedules that included several road games each against Top 25 opponents.

JSU will finally play at home on Jan. 11 against Alabama State, and Jan. 13 vs. Alabama A&M. Alcorn hosts Alabama A&M on Jan. 11 and Alabama State on Jan. 13.

Mississippi State 85, South Carolina 50
No. 17 Mississippi State looked every bit the part of a Top 25 team in its Southeastern Conference opener on Saturday.
Josh Hubbard made five 3-pointers and led four players in double figures as Mississippi State shot 56.5 percent from the field to blow out South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC).

Mississippi State led 43-18 at halftime. It was the Bulldogs’ largest halftime lead since 2003, and they led by as many as 37 in the second half. South Carolina was 2-for-19 from 3-point range.

Claudell Harris finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0). Keshawn Murphy had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and Riley Kugel also scored 12 points.

Mississippi State won its seventh game in a row. It’ll play at Vanderbilt on Tuesday, and then be back at home for a showdown with No. 10 Kentucky next Saturday, Jan. 11.

Ole Miss 63, Georgia 51
No. 24 Ole Miss shook off a sluggish first half by shooting 50 percent in the second to surge past Georgia in the SEC opener for both teams.

Ole Miss trailed 28-26 at halftime, then started the second half with a 15-2 run to take the lead for good. Dre Davis and Jaemyn Brakefield both hit 3-pointers during the run, and Matthew Murrell got it started with a pair of baskets.

Murrell finished with 15 points and six rebounds to lead the Rebels (12-2, 1-0 SEC). Davis had nine points and five blocked shots, and Brakefield matched Murrell with 15 points.

Asa Newell had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Georgia (12-2, 0-1).

Ole Miss plays at Arkansas on Wednesday night, and then is back at home in Oxford to face LSU on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Old Dominion 74, Southern Miss 71
Jaden Johnson converted a three-point play with 36 seconds left to give Old Dominion (6-9, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) the lead, and Sean Durugordon made three free throws down the stretch to seal the Monarchs’ win over Southern Miss (6-9, 1-2).

Johnson’s three-point play put Old Dominion ahead 71-68. Southern Miss turned the ball over and missed a shot on its next two possessions while Durugordon made three of four free throws to put the game away.

Southern Miss’ Andre Curbelo hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer for the final 74-71 margin. He finished with a team-high 19 points and eight assists.

DeAntoni Gordon added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles, Christian Watson scored 16 points, and Cobie Montgomery had 11.

Durugordon finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Old Dominion and Johnson scored seven points. Robert Davis Jr. led the Monarchs with 18 points.

Southern Miss’ next two games are at home at Reed Green Coliseum — Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. against Louisiana-Monroe; and Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. vs. Texas State.

Alabama State 84, Mississippi Valley State 55
Micah Octave and CJ Hines scored 14 points apiece as Alabama State (5-9, 1-0 SWAC) pulled away in the second half for a blowout of Mississippi Valley State (2-12, 0-1).

Octave also had nine rebounds, while Hines had six assists. Alabama State led 39-29 at halftime, then turned it into a rout as Valley shot just 36 percent in the second half.

Valley was 2-for-16 on 3-pointers and had 16 turnovers. Alabama State scored 20 points off the turnovers.
Alvin Stredic led Valley with 21 points and nine rebounds.