No. 24 Arkansas Edges Miss. St.

Nolan Richardson became Arkansas' winningest coach with the help of a freshman.

Chris Jefferies scored 23 points and blocked the game's final shot to give No. 24 Arkansas a 61-59 victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday night.

The victory broke the Razorbacks' two-game losing streak and was Richardson's 326th at Arkansas. In his 14th season, Richardson is 326-122. He was tied with Glen Rose, who won 325 games at Arkansas from 1943-66.

"Chris Jefferies was big time tonight. The last couple of games I could see it coming," Richardson said. "His jump shot is getting better and he's beginning to understand the system better. If Chris can come on like he did tonight, it can really make a difference."

The 6-foot-8 Jefferies started the game in place of guard Chris Walker as Arkansas went to a bigger lineup against Mississippi State.

The Razorbacks (12-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) had a 57-45 lead after Kareem Reid's layup with just over four minutes left in the game, but the Bulldogs began a 9-0 run highlighted by two dunks from Tang Hamilton.

Mississippi State (12-5, 2-2) cut the lead to 57-54 on Hamilton's second dunk, but Reid made two foul shots for a five-point lead with 1:08 to play.

Joe Marshall made one of two free throws with 23 seconds left as Mississippi State made it 59-57, but Jefferies made two crucial free throws, including one with 5.2 seconds left to give Arkansas a 61-59 lead.

Mississippi State had a final shot at the buzzer, but Bart Hyche's 3-pointer was blocked by Jefferies.

"They made all of the effort plays in the first half," Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said. "What I mean by that, loose balls, offnsive rebounds -- they got them. I think for the first time the emotion of the game had us uptight."

Arkansas returns home for four straight games, and will be trying to start a new home-court winning streak. The Razorbacks had a 30-game home winning streak snapped last week by Ole Miss.

Jason Jennings scored 12 points, including six points during a 10-0 run to start the game, for the Razorbacks, who led 34-22 at halftime.

The Bulldogs did not score a basket until Oral Roberts put in a missed shot with 15:13 left in the first half.

Tyrone Washington led Mississippi State with 14 points.

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