Starkville - #17 Mississippi State survived an upset attempt by Nicholls State, squeaking by for a 68-66 win to improve to 11-0.

The 66 points scored by Nicholls were the most surrendered by Mississippi State this season, and they needed a clutch steal by Cameron Matthews followed by two free throws from Dashawn Davis with five seconds left to seal the victory.

Davis finished with 14, while Tolu Smith finished with 15, and they each shot 7-8 from the free throw line. Free throw shooting proved to be the difference in the game as the Bulldogs played physically inside, earning 35 shots at the charity stripe and converting 28 of them, while Nicholls was more outside-focused on offense shooting 6-9 from the line.

Mississippi State had an ugly first half on the offensive end, shooting 7-26 from the field and 0-8 from deep, and they needed Tyler Stevenson to give them a spark off the bench. The Southern Miss transfer finished with 14 and scored 12 of the Bulldogs' 27 first-half points on 5-6 shooting.

Nicholls led 30-27 going into the break, but Tolu Smith and D.J. Jeffries put the Bulldogs ahead with a quick surge with four points each. They got out to a 12-point lead with a three by Eric Reed Jr. but went quiet after that, allowing the Colonels back in the game.

Mississippi State did not score a field goal in the final 6:24 in the game, and the trio of Latrell Jones with 15 and Marek Nelson and Caleb Huffman with 12 a piece made it a close game, but the Bulldogs' consistent free throw shooting kept them ahead.

Mississippi State will be back on the road on Tuesday as they'll face Drake in Lincoln, NE, in the Battle in the Vault before they begin SEC play with Alabama on Dec. 28.