Mississippi State broke a 3-game losing streak, and Ole Miss has now lost 7 straight matchups. A strong performance by Josh Hubbard, who became the Bulldogs’ all-time leading 3-point scorer, fueled the Bulldogs to a 90-78 win over the Rebels in the SJB Pavilion on Saturday.
Hubbard converted on 75% of his shots and had a game-high 32 points. He was complimented by a strong outing from Achor Achor, who had 18 points and also shot at a 75% clip. Mississippi State, as a team, shot 58% in what was one of the Bulldogs’ most efficient offensive showings of the season.
The last time the two teams met, Ole Miss snagged a victory in Starkville, marking the most recent win Chris Beard’s crew has amassed before things snowballed. Fortune has not been much kinder to the Bulldogs, as Chris Jans’ group has won just a pair of its last 7 contests since the initial battle against the Rebels.
“Just being from Mississippi, it’s the icing on the cake. Going against these guys is always fun and competitive,” Hubbard said of the rivalry against Ole Miss. “After [the first game], it affected me mentally, but credit to my coaches and teammates. They helped me get through it and move past it.”
Malik Dia and AJ Storr accounted for 68% of Ole Miss’ point total. Dia had a 32-point performance, while Storr logged 21. While the two were the bread and butter of the Ole Miss offense, Beard said they lacked a “captain” caliber performance, or one that would uplift the supporting cast.
Achor started things off with an uncharacteristic 3-pointer. Ole Miss guard Eduardo Klafke rebutted with a triple in transition. Then the pendulum swung in Mississippi State’s favor, with Hubbard lobbing a ball to Achor, who finished the dunk, to make it an 11-3 game at the 15:45 mark. An 8-3 run by the Rebels, led by Dia and a triple from Storr, made it a 16-11 game in the Bulldogs’ advantage with 11:55 on the clock.
Mississippi State then began a theme of squashing any semblance of positive momentum Ole Miss garnered. With 7:43 remaining in the first half, a triple by Travis Perry and a fastbreak layup by Storr cut the Rebels’ deficit to 24-21. The road Bulldogs countered, with a deep shot by Hubbard helping build a 10-point buffer. Ole Miss dropped that lead down to 5 points at the 4:20 mark, just for Hubbard and company to close out the half on a 16-2 run to take a 47-28 advantage into the intermission.
The second half played to the same tune as the one prior, with the Rebels cutting into a mountainous deficit, just for the Hubbard-led Bulldogs to punch back. A Quincy Ballard dunk right off the bat gave Mississippi State a 21-point lead — its largest of the night. Undeterred, Ole Miss mounted a 6-0 run to make it a 15-point game with 17:33 remaining in regulation. That push was rebutted by a Hubbard jumper and a 3-pointer by Ja’Borri McGhee, which put the Bulldogs up 20.
Ole Miss never dropped its deficit to single digits. A 12-3 run late in the game gave the Rebels a window to come back. That window was promptly slammed shut by a Hubbard 3-pointer and a fastbreak dunk by the standout junior off of an Ole Miss turnover. With 2:32 on the clock, Mississippi State led 87-70 and never looked back.
“I think in tonight’s basketball game, we weren’t physically tough enough to keep the game in arm’s length early when shots weren’t going down,” Beard said. “There’s just a mental toughness [aspect]. Some guys know how to win, and some guys don’t, and we’re doing everything in our power to teach guys how to win. Tonight, it just wasn’t there for us.”
Beard sent his entire starting lineup to answer questions from the media after the game, just like he did following last season’s home loss to Mississippi State. Klafke and Dia were the only two to speak, as Storr, Ilias Kamardine, and Patton Pinkins sat quietly without uttering a word. Klafke and Dia said the team needs to fight harder and that their preparation in practice needs to be applied to the product on the floor on gameday much better.
Next up for Mississippi State is a home battle against Auburn on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. Meanwhile, Ole Miss will travel to Texas A&M on Wednesday, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT. Both games will air on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.