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No. 15 Mississippi State slips past Utah State

Dec 31, 2011 - 11:06 PM Starkville, MS (Sports Network) - Dee Bost hit a pair of free throws with 34 seconds remaining, lifting No. 15 Mississippi State over Utah State, 66-64, on Saturday.

Rodney Hood scored a game-high 16 points in the narrow victory. Arnett Moultrie added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Renardo Sidney chipped in 13 points for the Bulldogs (13-2), who were coming off a 54-52 loss to Baylor.

Preston Medlin scored 15 points, Brockeith Pane had 11 and Morgan Grim finished with 10 for the Aggies (8-6), who saw their season-high four-game win streak come to an end.

In addition to his game-winning free throws, Bost handed out four assists to become the program's all-time leader with 516. Still, the Bulldogs were not in the clear after Bost's trip to the line. They needed a defensive stop and got one, as Danny Berger's jumper went awry at the buzzer, sealing the final result.

Utah State held a 17-9 advantage midway through the opening half, but Mississippi State rallied to take a 32-29 lead into the break. Jalen Steele made it a 43-36 game with 14 minutes left in regulation -- marking the Bulldogs' largest lead -- but the Aggies responded with a surge of their own.

They reeled off a 13-6 run, tying the game on E.J. Farris' layup with 8:37 remaining to trigger the back-and-forth finish.

Game Notes

This was the first-ever meeting between the schools...Bost broke Derrick Zimmerman's all-time assist record of 514, set from 2000-03...The Bulldogs went 7-of-16 from beyond the arc, compared to a 4-of-11 effort by the Aggies.