Shakeel Moore and his Mississippi State teammates had seen the stats.

The Bulldogs clung to a one-point lead at the half Saturday against Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum. That’s because the Rebels were hot from the field, knocking down eight 3-pointers and shooting 61.5 percent from the field in the first half.

“We knew going into halftime that they were shooting at a pretty high percentage,” Moore said.

So when the Bulldogs came out for the second half, they made it a point to limit the Rebels’ offense — as Moore put it, to “shut their water off.”

Consider that mission accomplished.

Mississippi State (13-5, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) held Ole Miss (9-9, 1-5 SEC) to just 19 second-half points in a 78-60 win Saturday in Starkville.

“I’m really pleased with our performance today,” MSU coach Ben Howland said. “I thought the second half was the best basketball we’ve played in quite a while, especially on the defensive end.”

The Bulldogs held the Rebels to just 7-of-21 shooting in the second half, going on a 15-0 run to seize control midway through the period. Four different players had three or more points amid the spurt, which turned the score from 51-49 to 66-49 in less than five minutes.

The balanced scoring during the run was reminiscent of the equity on the scoreboard throughout the game. All five MSU starters — Iverson Molinar, Garrison Brooks, D.J. Jeffries, Tolu Smith and Moore scored 10 or more points.

“Anytime our starting five gets in double digits, that’s pretty good,” Moore said. “It’s great, actually.”

Once again, it was Molinar in the lead with 20 points. The junior guard from Panama surpassed 1,000 career points late in the second half and now has 1,003 — and counting, Molinar promised after the game.

“I’m going to keep going,” he said. “I’m going to keep putting the work in.”

Howland praised Molinar’s improved defense, efficient night (7 for 11 from the field) and willingness to shoot from 3. The Bulldogs’ point guard shot a respectable 2 for 5 from deep, but after he had only eight 3-point attempts in his last five games, his confidence might just be returning.

“He’s really developed into one of the better players in our league,” Howland said.

The Mississippi State coach pointed out Brooks, second on the team in scoring with 17 points, delivered a big game for the second straight Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum. Brooks made several midrange jumpers — according to Moore, the product of slack defense in the high post — and shot 6 of 11 from the field.

Howland seemed surprised after Wednesday’s loss at Florida that Brooks took just three shots, echoing the sentiment postgame Saturday as well.

“That’s ridiculous,” Howland said. “We’ve got to get him more shots, and we did today.”

Despite a comfortable double-digit lead, Brooks and the Bulldogs’ other starters remained on the court in the closing minutes. Howland said he was worried about Mississippi State’s lead dissipating with its reserves on the floor, particularly when key résumé metrics like the NET rankings factor in margin of victory.

But when Smith bumped knees with Ole Miss’ Jaemyn Brakefield with 1:15 to go and the Bulldogs up 20, Howland regretted his decision.

“I’m blaming myself — believe me, I’m kicking myself,” he said.

Smith will undergo an MRI at 8 a.m. Sunday. Howland said the preliminary report on his injury is a patellar subluxation — a partially dislocated kneecap — but “that could be totally off.”

Either way, if Smith misses any time, it’s a tough break for one of Mississippi State’s best players, who has already dealt with injuries to both feet and COVID-19 this season.

But the Bulldogs have had to play a majority of the season without him already, and they have held their own if not excelled without one of the SEC’s best rebounders.

That’s going to be tested soon. Mississippi State will travel to No. 12 Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) at 8 p.m. Tuesday, giving the Bulldogs just two days to prepare for a road game at Rupp Arena.

According to Molinar, Saturday’s win will help. The junior guard said the Bulldogs took their Jan. 8 loss at Ole Miss personally, and the victory in Starkville was much-needed revenge.

Now it’s on to Lexington for Mississippi State with a big win in hand. 

“We just feel like it builds the confidence and it builds the momentum for the team to bring the fight out there,” Molinar said.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.