No. 19 Ole Miss falls 81-71 to No. 22 Mississippi State as Bulldogs complete season sweep

OXFORD, Miss. – No. 19 Ole Miss built an early lead but struggled to maintain momentum as No. 22 Mississippi State took control before the end of the first half and dominated in the second to secure the 81-71 victory and a season sweep over the Rebels.

First half

The Rebels won the opening tip but failed to score on the opening possession of the game. However, Josh Hubbard got the scoring going for the Bulldogs on their opening possession with a triple, and Malik Dia answered with a three for Ole Miss right after.

RJ Melendez then saw another three fall for the Bulldogs to quiet the Pavilion crowd. Down 6-5 shortly after, Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla let go of a deep three that hit the bottom of the net and gave the Rebels the lead. Matthew Murrell then put his name in the box score on a fast break score, and Jaemyn Brakefield danced into the paint to give Ole Miss a five-point lead heading into the first media timeout.

After the timeout, Jaylen ‘Juju’ Murray hit the third triple of the night for Ole Miss to extend the lead, but it was the Bulldogs answering with back-to-back baskets to make it a 15-11 game just over six minutes into play. Two minutes went by before the Rebels scored again, and it was Pedulla with his second triple of the night to give Ole Miss a seven-point lead.

For the next three minutes, a back-and-forth ensued. Keshawn Murphy was the answer for the Bulldogs, and it was Murrell and Brakefield finding buckets for the Rebels as Ole Miss held onto a 22-19 lead just over 12 minutes into play. Following another Brakefield basket, the Rebels would go the next three minutes without a field goal while Mississippi State cut the lead to one on two separate occasions.

However, freshman Eduardo Klafke helped end the drought for Ole Miss with an excellent pass delivered inside to Dre Davis, who got a reverse layup to fall. Dia and Brakefield then made three straight free throws for the Rebels as the lead increased to 29-25 with four minutes to go in the half. Claudell Harris Jr. would score the next five points for the Bulldogs, though, once again cutting the Ole Miss lead to one.

Trailing 31-30 with over two minutes left in the half, Harris gave Mississippi State its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. After a miss by the Rebels on the other end, Riley Kugel added more with the fourth three of the night for the Bulldogs, giving them a 35-31 lead.

Murray then cut the Ole Miss deficit to just two with a pair of shots at the line, but it was free throws for the Bulldogs and another triple for Harris that made it a 13-2 run to end the half for Mississippi State. Harris had 10 points at the break for the Bulldogs, while Kugel and Melendez combined for 14 more.

Murray led the Rebels with nine points in the first half, and Brakefield tallied eight of his own. Ole Miss was losing the rebound battle 22-12 at the break, struggling from the field as well, shooting 39 percent after the solid start. The Rebels went 5-of-7 from the field in the first five minutes of the half but just 6-for-21 in the remaining 15 minutes.

Second half

It was Hubbard again getting the first bucket to fall this half, his first points since draining the opening three of the game. A Murray floater and a pair of free ones for Dia then cut the Ole Miss deficit to five. Following a basket by Murphy to extend the Mississippi State lead, Pedulla nailed his third triple of the night, cutting the deficit to 44-40 just over two minutes into play.

However, the Rebels opened the half with four fouls in the first four minutes as the Bulldogs kept all the momentum and the Pavilion crowd out of the game. The second triple of the night then fell for Hubbard, and the Bulldogs continued to stay within a comfortable distance of the Rebels, leading 50-42 with over 15 minutes left to play.

Leading 50-44 after a basket by Davis for the Rebels, Mississippi State scored five unanswered points in a minute span to take the largest lead of the night. The eleven-point deficit forced Rebel head coach Chris Beard to use his second timeout of the half just six minutes into play.

Davon Barnes cut the Bulldog lead to single digits again shortly after, but another big run over the next four minutes forced Beard to use his final timeout as Ole Miss trailed 67-48 with over eight minutes left to play. The Rebels made just eight of their 20 shots at this point in the half, going 1-for-7 from behind the arc.

Ole Miss trailed by 19 points a few times in the half before beginning to cut more into the double-digit deficit. However, it was Hubbard at the line and a plethora of Bulldog players who continued to deliver and keep the Rebels at a distance as time ticked away. The Rebels would cut the lead to 10 in the final minutes of play, but Mississippi State left the Pavilion with a sweep of Ole Miss this season.

Melendez led the way for Mississippi State with 17 points and five boards, while Kugel and Hubbard combined for 25 more points for the Bulldogs. The Rebels were outrebounded 48-36 by the Bulldogs, giving up 16 second-chance points and 14 offensive rebounds.

Murray led Ole Miss in scoring with 14 points, and Pedulla was the only other Rebel player in double-digits with 13 points.

Up next

Chris Beard and the Rebels will not during the midweek as they head to Nashville a week removed from the loss. On Saturday, Feb. 22, the No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network.