OXFORD — Of course it came down to free throws.
Mississippi State had seemingly fixed its biggest Achilles heel of late Tuesday night at Ole Miss, making eight of nine foul shots in the first half. But when Cameron Matthews drove to the basket, drew a foul and stepped to the line with 4.1 seconds left and the Bulldogs trailing by two, he missed the first free throw well off to the left, and in an effort to intentionally miss and corral a rebound on the second, was unable to hit the rim.
The Rebels, who led for the entirety of the second half, were able to hold on for an 86-82 victory, keeping MSU winless in true road games and staying perfect at home as they took the first leg of this year’s rivalry series.
“It drew up exactly how we intended,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Jans said. “I told the staff that if I didn’t like how it unfolded with 12 seconds left, we could call timeout and reorganize, but I liked how it unfolded. I thought (Matthews) was going to stick it in the goal. I thought he had a pretty good path to the basket.”
MSU (14-7, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) came out strong in front of the record crowd of 10,630 fans at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion, building a game-high seven-point lead on three different occasions in the first half.
Freshman guard Josh Hubbard, who was originally committed to Ole Miss but flipped to the Bulldogs after the Rebels made a coaching change, showed Ole Miss what it was missing with 16 first-half points on 6-for-11 shooting. Hubbard scored 13 of the Bulldogs’ last 17 points in the opening half, showing off his moves on the dribble drive in addition to his outside shooting.
“Everybody knew I was going to get booed,” Hubbard said. “I processed it in the moment. I felt like I reacted pretty good. I didn’t say anything back or anything like that.”
The Rebels (18-3, 5-3) rallied to tie the game at the break, though, with Jaylen Murray knocking down a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer. MSU committed nine turnovers in the first half, which led to 12 Ole Miss points. Early in the second half, the Bulldogs could not keep up with the Rebels’ ball movement as the hosts used inside-out offense to set up open shots from the perimeter, using a 14-3 run to build an 11-point lead.
MSU was getting production from its guards, even with Trey Fort out due to a thumb injury. In addition to Hubbard’s 21 points, Dashawn Davis, recently reassigned to a bench role, had 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting, knocking down both his 3-point attempts. Davis played just 15 minutes but scored 13 of his points in the second half, more than he’d scored in his last six games combined.
“That was a bright spot for us,” Jans said. “He hasn’t been playing up to his capabilities, but he’s stayed with it. He’s been great, hasn’t hung his head, and now because of that, in my opinion, he’s getting some results that are better for him individually.”
Matthews recorded his second consecutive double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but star post player Tolu Smith was held without a field goal for the first 31 minutes of the game. He was on the bench for the final stretch as Jans opted for a smaller lineup with neither Smith nor Jimmy Bell Jr. on the floor.
The Bulldogs worked their way closer throughout the second half, twice cutting the deficit to a single point, but could not make enough defensive stops to take the lead — and were just 6-for-11 at the free throw line in the half. Murray led Ole Miss with 21 points and 11 assists, Matthew Murrell added 20 points and sixth man TJ Caldwell chipped in with a career-high 18.
“The plan certainly was to bring (Smith) back, but with us being down a little bit and them going to some spread and a lot of ball screens, we felt like (the small lineup) gave us the best chance to guard them,” Jans said. “Offensively, down the stretch with those guys being way out of position, they really executed. They ran the stuff we drew up and we got the shots we wanted. We just couldn’t get quite enough stops.”
The gauntlet continues for MSU with a trip to No. 24 Alabama on Saturday night. The Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs 82-74 at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 13, and Saturday’s rematch will be MSU’s eighth Quadrant 1 contest in its first nine SEC games. Jans, however, wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love it. I hope they do it to us every single year,” Jans said. “Certainly I don’t like our record in SEC play right now, and if we don’t take care of some of them… they’re just wasted opportunities. It’s a heck of a schedule. The SEC is obviously unrelenting and unforgiving. We’ve got 11 guaranteed games left and we have to find a way to win some of them.”
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