Tolu Smith scored a game-high 24 points and Mississippi State avenged an earlier loss to in-state rival Ole Miss with an 83-71 Southeastern Conference decision Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs (18-8, 7-6 SEC), who won their fourth game in a row, also got 12 points each from Shakeel Moore and KeShawn Murphy, plus 11 from Cameron Matthews.
Mississippi State overcame poor foul shooting — it made just 23 of 39 at the line — and a subpar scoring performance from second-leading scorer Josh Hubbard, who was held to only five points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Matthew Murrell scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Rebels (19-7, 6-7), while Allen Flanigan and Jaylen Murray each added 12 points.
But Ole Miss, which has lost four of its last five games, failed to hold on to a four-point halftime lead because it couldn’t make shots.
The Rebels cooled drastically from 50 percent shooting in the first half to 29.6 percent in the second half. They also committed 10 turnovers that led to 13 points for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State took the lead for good on Murphy’s layup with 13:29 left that made it 56-55. That started a game-changing 14-2 run that Moore capped with a layup at the 9:51 mark for a 68-57 lead. Ole Miss got within four on Flanigan’s two free throws with 5:30 remaining but a 13-2 spurt sealed the outcome.
The first half was played in two parts — the first eight minutes that the Bulldogs dominated and the final 12 that went to the Rebels.
Poor shooting and turnovers by Ole Miss led to a game-opening 20-8 burst for Mississippi State that Murphy capped with a layup with 12:04 remaining. But Ole Miss responded, starting with Jaemyn Brakefield’s layup on the next possession.
Brakefield and Murrell led a rally by combining for three 3-pointers in a five-minute stretch. The Rebels took their first lead when 7-foot-5 Jamarion Sharp hit a layup with 4:32 left to make it 34-33.
Murrell capped a 16-point half by sinking two foul shots with 31 seconds remaining, making it 44-40 Ole Miss at the break.
–Field Level Media