Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Mississippi St. 66, Utah St. 64
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 31, 2011
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Mississippi
Officials: # Doug Shows, # JB Caldwell, # Jeff Smith
Attendance: 7385

Arnett Moultrie had the tying layup and Dee Bost the game-winning free throws as No. 14 Mississippi State slipped by Utah State, 66-64 at Humphrey Coliseum.

Utah State (8-6), which had its four-game winning streak snapped, took a 64-62 lead with 2:42 on a jumper by Kyisean Reed, but the Aggies went scoreless for the remainder of the game.

That allowed the Bulldogs (13-2) to pull off the win, and Moultrie, who led all scorers with 15 points, tied the game with 1:30 left. After a turnover by Utah State guard Brockeith Pane, Bost calmly stepped to the free-throw line and put Mississippi State ahead for good.

Utah State led for much of the first half, including at 15-6 after an early, 11-0 run. Mississippi State missed 13 of its first 17 shots and Bost picked up a technical foul with three minutes to go until halftime, but that seemed to energize the hosts.

Trailing 29-24 after Preston Medlin hit two technical foul shots, the Bulldogs scored the final eight points of the half, six on 3-pointers from Jalen Steele and Renardo Sidney (part of a 5-for-8 team effort from three in the first half), to grab a 32-29 lead at the break.

Medlin led the Aggies with 15 points, though just six came in the second half.
Top Game Performances
 
Utah St.   Mississippi St.
Preston Medlin 15 Scoring Rodney Hood 16
Morgan Grim 3 Assists Dee Bost 4
Ben Clifford 7 Rebounds Arnett Moultrie 10
Preston Medlin 4 Free Throws Made Arnett Moultrie 3
Brockeith Pane 1 Steals Dee Bost 1
N/A Blocks Arnett Moultrie 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah St. 64 48.2 4-11 6-9 9 30 0 2 9
Mississippi St. 66 43.3 7-16 7-12 14 34 3 2 9