STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Phil Turner scored all 15 of his points in the second half to spark Mississippi State’s late rally as the Bulldogs edged Georgia 72-69 in an SEC basketball game here Saturday afternoon.

The visiting Bulldogs (8-8, 0-3) had their way for much of the afternoon. They built their first-half advantage as large as 13 points near halftime on a layup by Travis Leslie, who finished the game with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The host Bulldogs (15-3, 3-0) found themselves trailing 67-54 with 4:16 left when Albert Jackson converted a 3-point play for Georgia. Barry Stewart countered with a 3-pointer on State’s next possession. After a time out, the maroon Bulldogs forced a Georgia turnover and Turner connected from 3-point range, cutting the margin to 67-60.

After another Georgia turnover, Jarvis Varnado followed a missed 3-pointer with layup, trimming the deficit further. State eventually took the lead at 68-67 on two Turner foul shots with 2:39 left before Georgia scored its last points of the game on a Jeremy Price dunk.

State took its final margin on a driving layup by Dee Bost with 39 seconds left. After the maroon Bulldogs blocked two Georgia 3-point shots, MSU’s Ravern Johnson missed a pair of foul shots with four seconds left that would have secured victory. Dustin Ware narrowly missed a final 3-point shot from the left corner for Georgia as time expired.

Georgia’s next game will be Saturday, Jan. 23 at home against Tennessee with a 5:00 p.m. tipoff.