Field Level Media
Jan 19, 2021
Devontae Shuler scored 22 points and Ole Miss outscored Mississippi State by 13 points over the final 10 minutes for a 64-46 win Tuesday night at Starkville, Miss.
The Rebels (7-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) shot 52 percent from the field in the second half while holding the Bulldogs to 33 percent shooting after halftime. Jarkel Joiner scored 12 points for Ole Miss.
D.J. Stewart Jr. had 18 points to lead Mississippi State (9-6, 4-3), and Tolu Smith added 10. Leading scorer Iverson Molinar was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Points were tough to come by for both teams in the first half. The Rebels made just 40.6 percent of their field-goal attempt and 3 of 11 from 3-point range while the Bulldogs struggled even more with 36 percent shooting and 1-of-7 success from beyond the arc.
Ole Miss made an adjustment on defense during the half and went on a 10-0 run to take an 18-11 lead with 7:27 left. The Rebels equaled their largest lead of eight at halftime, 29-21, after a jumper from Joiner just before the buzzer.
The Rebels kept their lead throughout the second half. Mississippi State got as close as four points after a Molinar jumper with 12:07 to go, but Ole Miss went up by 11 again with 8:09 to play on a Matthew Murrell jumper.
KJ Buffen put back a missed long jumper a few moments later as the shot clock wound down for a 13-point Ole Miss lead. Luis Rodriguez hit a jumper to make it 56-41, and the Rebels pulled away.
Ole Miss led for all but nine minutes, five seconds of the game as Mississippi State struggled in its own building.
The Bulldogs had won three of four coming into the game while the Rebels had lost five of their past six.
--Field Level Media