FAYETTEVILLE — Abdul Ado’s tip-in with 0.6 seconds left lifted Mississippi State to a 78-77 win over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
Mason Jones, who scored a game-high 38 points, had given Arkansas a one-point lead after a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left. On the other end, Tyson Carter — who led Mississippi State with 26 points — attempted an off-balance layup with two seconds left that rimmed out, but onto Ado’s fingertips for his only basket of the game.
Reggie Perry added 17 points and eight rebounds for Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5 SEC), which had four players in double figures.
Desi Sills (15) and Adrio Bailey (10) joined Jones with double-digit scoring games for Arkansas (16-9, 4-8), which lost its fourth straight.
Mississippi State had built a 17-point lead in the second half before Jones led Arkansas’ rally.
BIG PICTURE
Mississippi State stayed on the upside of .500 in conference play, bolstering its NCAA Tournament chances with a road win over a current bubble team.
Arkansas’ bubble is leaking as the Razorbacks have lost four straight since projected NBA draft pick Isaiah Joe’s knee injury has kept him out of each.
UP NEXT
Mississippi State hosts South Carolina on Wednesday.
Arkansas travels to visit Florida on Tuesday.
EARLIER
FINAL | Mississippi State 78, Arkansas 77
The Razorbacks' losing streak hits four games thanks to a last-second tip-in from Bulldogs forward Abdul Ado.
His putback prevented Mississippi State from ultimately blowing a 17-point second-half lead.
Mason Jones finished with a game-high 38 points, and Desi Sills added 15, all in the second half. Ado's score was his lone bucket of the game.
Reggie Perry finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, but Tyson Carter led the way with 26 points on 8 of 14 shooting.
We'll have more from today's game a little bit later on WholeHogSports.com.
0.6, 2H | Mississippi State 77, Arkansas 76
Mason Jones drew contact and knocked down two free throws to give the Razorbacks a lead. Following a defensive stop, Jones airballed a 3 with 11 seconds to play.
Tyson Carter missed a runner near the lane, but Abdul Ado tipped it in with .6 left. Looks like the Bulldogs are going to get out of Fayetteville with a win.
1:08, 2H | Mississippi State 76, Arkansas 75
Arkansas fouled Tyson Carter, who then hit two free throws. Jalen Harris came down the floor and committed a terrible turnover in which he left his feet and spun, trying to his Mason Jones on the left wing.
Carter ran the other way for a dunk.
1:41, 2H | Arkansas 75, Mississippi State 72
Desi Sills has scored 15 second-half points, and his last bucket gave Arkansas a lead. He buried a left-corner 3 off penetration from Mason Jones.
His 15 points are his most in a game since adding 18 against TCU.
2:33, 2H | Mississippi State 72, Arkansas 70
Mason Jones was fouled and added two free throws, then Desi Sills spun off a defender and kissed a floater high off the glass. Following a defensive stop, Arkansas - somehow - has a chance to tie or take the lead.
Heck of a second-half effort from this bunch.
3:52, 2H | Mississippi State 70, Arkansas 66
Nice response from the Razorbacks over the last couple of minutes. Mason Jones was fouled attempting to rebound a missed Bulldogs free throw and hit both shots on the other end, then Desi Sills beat a Mississippi State forward off the bounce and dropped in an uncontested layup.
Jones has been great today, bouncing back the way many thought he would. He's up to 32 points, the sixth time this season he's scored at least 30. Desi Sills and Adrio Bailey each have 10 as well. Sills and Jones have combined for 23 second-half points.
Arkansas ball out of the final media timeout of the afternoon.
6:02, 2H | Mississippi State 69, Arkansas 60
Big 5-0 run from the Bulldogs over the last two and a half minutes. Tyson Carter hit a big 3 from the left wing, giving Mississippi State its first bucket in nearly three minutes.
Robert Woodard then took Mason Jones baseline for a layup to extend the lead. It was Woodard's first bucket of the second half.
Jones, on Arkansas' next possession, took a contested 3 from the right wing and airballed. The Razorbacks are going to need to string together a few more stops to have a chance to steal this one.
Reggie Perry has 17 points and eight rebounds. Jones has 28.
8:38, 2H | Mississippi State 64, Arkansas 60
Mason Jones just cut the Razorbacks deficit to four on a really tough 3 in the face of Reggie Perry. Jones now has 28 points on 8 of 14 from the floor.
Can't say enough about the play of Desi Sills this half. His effort is a huge reason Arkansas is back in this game. Sills has eight points and two assists since halftime.
11:53, 2H | Mississippi State 58, Arkansas 53
The Razorbacks are on a 14-2 run and have climbed back to well within striking distance.
After beginning the game 0 of 3 from the floor, pushing him to 2 of 17 over the last two games, Desi Sills has come alive. He hit a pair of free throws and later drove to the rim, got a layup to drop plus the free throw. On the next possession, Sills penetrated, drew Reggie Perry and dished to Adrio Bailey under the rim for a layup. Sills is locked in right now, and that's huge for this team.
Mason Jones has a game-high 24 points and Bailey has 10.
13:16, 2H | Mississippi State 56, Arkansas 46
The Bulldogs led by as many as 17 points, but the Razorbacks aren't going away just yet.
Arkansas is on a 7-0 run behind a jumper from Jimmy Whitt, Adrio Bailey's second 3 of the game - he is 6 of his last 9 from 3, by the way - and two free throws from Mason Jones.
Desi Sills will be at the line when play resumes. Bailey came up with a steal and found Sills under the rim, where he was fouled. This team is finally playing with some energy, and the crowd is into it.
15:41, 2H | Mississippi State 51, Arkansas 36
The Bulldogs are playing loose and getting almost anything they want on the offensive end. They have grabbed their largest lead of the day following an 8-0 run over the last minute.
DJ Stewart has been the Razorback killer since halftime. He's scored eight of the team's 11 points on 3 of 3 from the floor and 1 of 1 from deep. He becomes the third Bulldogs player to reach double figures with 10.
Mississippi State coach Ben Howland let out a celebratory yell after Stewart's 3 fell from the right wing.
The Bulldogs are shooting 63 percent for the game while Arkansas sits at 38.2 - 2 of 7 in the second half. Mason Jones will be at the line when play resumes. He drew a foul on a long 2 on the right wing.
Should he hit at least 1 of 2 free throws, Jones will have scored 20-plus points six times in SEC play.
Jamario Bell entered the game around the 16:30 mark in place of Adrio Bailey. Reggie Chaney also picked up two quick fouls after the break, which sent him to the bench.
HALF | Mississippi State 40, Arkansas 32
Arkansas tied the game 32-32 with just more than one minute to play in the half on Mason Jones' third old fashioned three-point play, but the Bulldogs had the last word prior to halftime.
Mississippi State closed the first 20 minutes on a quick 8-0 over the final 62 seconds to take an eight-point lead into the break. Tyson Carter contributed six points during the run - an and-1 then a right-wing 3 to beat the first-half buzzer.
Jones leads all scorers with 19 on 6 of 10 shooting and 2 of 5 from 3-point range. No other Razorbacks player has more than five points - Adrio Bailey. Jimmy Whitt added just one score in the first half, and it tied the game 27-27 with 3:21 left.
Desi Sills did not score. He is 2 of his last 17 from the floor.
Reggie Perry led Mississippi State with 11 points and seven rebounds. Carter added nine and Nick Weatherspoon eight. The Bulldogs shot 62.1 percent in the first half. Lots of good looks around the rim.
Arkansas has now trailed at the half in every game since TCU.
3:44, 1H | Mississippi State 27, Arkansas 24
Essentially everything has been a struggled for the Razorbacks offensively today, except when Mason Jones has got his hands on the ball in transition.
After Arkansas forced a miss defensively, Jalen Harris pushed the ball up the floor and found Jimmy Whitt, who hit Jones with a trail pass. Jones got into the lane, drew contact and got a layup to go off the glass. He'll be at the line when play resumes. Jones has a game-high 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
Reggie Perry leads the Bulldogs with nine points, and Nick Weatherspoon and Iverson Molinar each have eight.
Arkansas has committed eight turnovers today. Reggie Chaney was whistled for traveling on back-to-back possessions. The Razorbacks have happy feet this afternoon.
7:53, 1H | Mississippi State 23, Arkansas 20
Between the breaks, Arkansas got 3s from Adrio Bailey and Mason Jones. Bailey is now 7 of 15 from 3-point range in conference play. He missed his second attempt from the right corner, essentially the same spot he made one from. He is 2 of 7 in the right corner this season.
Jones has a game-high 11 points on 4 of 6 from the floor. Bailey is having a bit of a rough day aside from his five points. He's turned the ball over four times and flat out fumbled the ball on occasion. Arkansas has six turnovers today, and I believe all but one are traveling calls.
Mason Jones will be at the line when play resumes. He drew a foul on Adbul Ado to send us to the under-8 timeout.
Bulldogs guard Iverson Molinar has eight points today. He had scored eight points in the team's last six games combined. He's killing Arkansas off the bounce.
11:46, 1H | Mississippi State 17, Arkansas 14
The Bulldogs are on a 6-0 run and have grabbed their biggest lead of the day so far with Adrio Bailey and Mason Jones on the bench for Arkansas. They are set to check back in when play resumes, along with Jalen Harris.
Reggie Chaney added two free throws following a nice up-and-under move at the rim, and Ethan Henderson got a left-handed layup to drop. Henderson, though, just missed a point-blank look, too.
After a Mississippi State score, Jimmy Whitt grabbed the ball to inbound, but no Razorbacks player came back to him to receive the pass. Whitt had to call for time, and Eric Musselman received a warning from officials moments later.
Reggie Perry has seven points and three rebounds in seven minutes. Iverson Molinar has six points on 3 of 3 from the floor. He's been aggressive getting to the rim.
16:00, 1H | Arkansas 10, Mississippi State 8
Mason Jones, one game after coming off the bench for the first time in his junior season, is off to a strong offensive start today. He missed his first 3-point attempt from the right corner on Arkansas' opening possession, but Reggie Chaney rebounded the miss.
The ball eventually found Jones again and he buried a 3 to get the Razorbacks on the board. He just went coast to coast in transition for an and-1, but he picked up his second foul prior to the first media timeout of the day. He has eight point, but will have to sit for a while.
Arkansas players with two fouls have played less than 20 percent of available first-half minutes this season, per KenPom.
Reggie Perry will be at the line shooting one free throw when play resumes. He has six of the Bulldogs' eight points.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Desi Sills, Jimmy Whitt, Mason Jones, Reggie Chaney and Adrio Bailey.
Looking for bounce-back games today from Jones and Sills, who combined to shoot 3 of 24 in the blowout loss at Tennessee, 3 of 13 beyond the arc.
Chaney is making his seventh consecutive start today. He is averaging eight points and seven rebounds this season in games in which he starts, and four points and three rebounds when coming off the bench. Chaney is also one of the SEC's best offensive rebounders. He has grabbed 17 in his last four games, including six at Missouri when he scored a career-high 17 points and finished with 11 rebounds.
Arkansas with Chaney and Bailey on the floor together in SEC play have outscored opponents by 21 points per 100 possessions, according to HoopLens. That is the best mark of any two-player pairing since conference play began.
Mississippi State's starters: Robert Woodard (6-7), DJ Stewart (6-6), Reggie Perry (6-10), Nick Weatherspoon (6-2) and Abdul Ado (6-11).
The Bulldogs are 1-4 in true road games in SEC play this season, their lone win coming at Florida on Jan. 28. Since, they have lost at Kentucky and Ole Miss, which ran away with an 83-58 win earlier this week.
Perry has scored 20-plus points in seven of Mississippi State's last nine games, including 27 against the Gators in the comeback win. He can live at the free throw line, so limiting cheap fouls today is key for Arkansas. He draws 6.6 fouls per 40 minutes in SEC play, according to KenPom data, and that ranks fifth in the league.
The Bulldogs are 10th in the conference in defensive efficiency rate in league games, allowing 104.0 points per 100 possessions. They do not turn teams over at a high rate and opponents have shot 52 percent inside the arc despite Mississippi State's length.