No. 22 Mississippi State contains No. 19 Ole Miss, earns sweep

RJ Melendez scored 17 points to lead a balanced scoring effort and No. 22 Mississippi State defeated No. 19 Ole Miss 81-71 on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.

Josh Hubbard added 14 points, Riley Kugel scored 11 and Claudell Harris Jr. and Keshawn Murphy had 10 each for the Bulldogs (18-7, 6-6 SEC), who had lost three of their last four but won for the second time against their archrival, having prevailed 84-81 in overtime Jan. 18 in Starkville, Miss.

Jaylen Murray scored 14, Sean Pedulla had 13 and Jaemyn Brakefield added 10 for the Rebels (19-7, 8-5), who had won three in a row but got outscored 54-40 during the final 23 1/2 minutes.

Ole Miss shot just 38.3 percent (23 of 60) from the floor and 25 percent (6 of 24) from 3-point range, while Mississippi State shot 43.1 percent (28 of 65) from the floor and 25.9 percent (7 of 27) from beyond the arc

Hubbard made a jumper to start the second-half scoring and increase the Bulldogs' lead to nine. Three Rebels scored and they closed the margin to 44-40.

Hubbard made a 3-pointer and Melendez added three points to help push the lead to 11. Devon Barnes sank a layup for Ole Miss, but the Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run to expand the lead to 67-48.

The Rebels' offense picked up as Murrell made two free throws, Pedulla and Barnes each hit a layup and Mikeal Brown-Jones added a jumper to cut the lead to 69-56.

Ole Miss got within 11 on two free throws by Pedulla with 2:56 left. The Bulldogs maintained a safe margin by making five free throws down the stretch.

Murray scored five early points as Ole Miss took a 15-7 lead. Murphy scored four points and MSU closed within 22-21.

The Bulldogs got within one point a second time before the Rebels pushed the lead to four on three occasions. Harris scored five straight points to start a 13-2 run that finished with his 3-pointer. That gave MSU a 40-33 halftime lead as Ole Miss failed to make a field goal during the final 3 1/2 minutes of the half.

--Field Level Media