Sam Sklar, Mississippi Clarion LedgerTue, November 25, 2025 at 11:06 AM UTC·3 min readSTARKVILLE — Amier Ali was one of three healthy players who didn't see time in Mississippi State basketball's season opener.
The Arizona State transfer didn’t play a minute in MSU’s third game of the season, either, against Southeastern Louisiana.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut on Nov. 24, as the Bulldogs were in a tight contest with New Orleans at Humphrey Coliseum — and in serious danger of dropping to 2-4 for just the second time since 1996-97 — it was Ali who was the unforeseen hero.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore guard/forward banked in the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime to lift MSU to an 81-78 win. The Bulldogs (3-3) overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half.
“It felt like when you are a kid and thinking in your brain, it’s like 3, 2, 1 on the playground,” Ali said. “I was just in an empty gym, and I shot it and I made it.”
Mississippi State coach Chris Jans jumped up and down, seemingly in frustration, as Ali dribbled the ball near half court with the clock winding down. But Jans said the play was indeed designed for Ali and not for star Josh Hubbard, who had been double-teamed for much of the second half and overtime. Hubbard, who finished with 28 points — 24 of them after halftime — was a decoy on the play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It actually was what I was trying to get them to do,” Jans said. “I was jumping up and down to try and get them to positions of the court that I wanted them.”
Ali had a larger impact than just the game-winning shot against the Privateers (2-4). He scored 16 points, tied for second on the team and his season high. Eight of those points were in overtime.
It was especially key with guard Jayden Epps and forward Sergej Macura both out with injuries.
“He’s been awesome in practice since (the season opener),” Jans said. “He certainly was disappointed. Everyone is when they don’t play the minutes they think they deserve and that’s just college basketball in general. He didn’t pout. He’s as energized as anybody on the bench in the games.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"In practice, he worked on the things that we told him he needed to work on to get himself more minutes and get in the rotation. Now that he’s in there, he’s trying to take advantage of it.”
Ali, who also had five rebounds and shot 6-for-9 from the field, stole New Orleans’ inbounds pass to seal the game after his 3-pointer.
“I knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge because defensively, I had to work on that,” Ali said. “I just trusted the process. The coaches were always telling me, ‘Your time is coming, your time is coming.’ I just wasn’t that frustrated because I love my brothers and want to see them win.”
Jayden Epps, Sergej Macura injury updates
Epps and Macura each had a boot on the left foot during the game. It was the second straight missed game for Macura and the first for Epps.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Neither one of them has practiced,” Jans said. “I’m not sure what the prognosis is going to be long term. I don’t think either one of them is going to be months or even weeks, but I’m not sure when they’ll be available to practice or play.”
MORE: Mississippi State football can make bowl with five wins if these 13 teams lose
Epps, a Georgetown transfer, has made two starts this season and averages 13.5 points per game. He was coming off a season-best 21 points against New Mexico.
Macura has been part of MSU’s rotation off the bench, averaging 4.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Amier Ali’s game-winning shot for Mississippi State vs New Orleans
AdvertisementAdvertisement
