Mississippi State led by 19 at 30-11 midway through the first half, but McPhee, a walk-on, made three 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 47-43.
McPhee, who had a career-high 15 points, added another 3 with 7:11 remaining to cut State's lead to 52-50, but the visitors scored the next eight points.
Georgia freshman Dustin Ware had 14 points, including a 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds left cut Mississippi State's lead to 64-61. Jeremy Price had 10 points.
Ravern Johnson led Mississippi State (14-6 overall, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) with 21 points, all in the first half. Phil Turner added 13.
Mississippi State had 13 steals, including four by Varnado.
Georgia (9-10, 0-4) has lost six straight.
Georgia, last in the SEC in scoring (66 points per game) and field-goal percentage (42.3), continued to struggle offensively. The host Bulldogs were held to 24 points in the first half and then didn't score in the first four minutes of the second half.
Johnson, averaging 12 points per game, almost matched Georgia's first-half scoring while making five of his first six 3-pointers. He didn't attempt another 3-pointer in the game.
Varnado, who leads the nation in blocked shots, helped Mississippi State shift its scoring inside in the second half. Varnado scored after his first block on Albert Jackson early in the second half as Georgia shifted more of its defensive attention to Johnson on the perimeter. Varnado scored eight of his team's first 11 points in the second half.
Mississippi State's Barry Stewart (22) shoots as Georgia's Trey Tompkins (33) defends during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game at Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday in Athens. Mississippi State won 67-61. / photo: Associated Press
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