Second-half come back attempts by both Mississippi State and Ole Miss to secure a conference win on the road fell short on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs (12-5, 1-3 SEC) have now lost two SEC games in a row following Saturday’s home defeat against Alabama with a tough loss in Rupp Arena.
Meanwhile, the Rebels (15-2, 2-2 SEC) followed up a dominant two-game winning streak at home with a loss in Baton Rouge.
Mississippi State 77, No. 8 Kentucky 90
An early second-half comeback by Mississippi State proved futile during Wednesday night’s contest at Kentucky as the Bulldogs allowed the most points to be scored on them in the Chris Jans era.
Mississippi State began the game on a short-lived 5-2 run. At the 14:22 mark of the first half, an Antonio Reeves triple put the Wildcats up 15-5. The Bulldogs responded with a six-point swing of their own to reduce Kentucky’s lead to four.
Nevertheless, the Wildcats exploded offensively with 32 minutes in 13 minutes to lead 47-29 at the intermission.
Jans’ team was not intimidated by the Wildcats’ advantage and the ruckus crowd. Senior big man Tolu Smith helped Mississippi State open up the second half on a 14-2 run in the first three minutes to turn an 18-point deficit to six.
Kentucky reclaimed a double-digit lead with 16:17 left in the game and never looked back. The Bulldogs continued to play aggressively and tried to work their way back into the match, but were unable to hit the shots necessary to break the scoring ceiling set by Kentucky.
While MSU outscored its foe by five points in the final 20 minutes, it was simply not enough to dig the team out of the hole it created in the first half.
The big differences in the game came from the floor and at the free throw line. Kentucky shot field goals at a 56% volume compared to 45% on Mississippi State’s end. The Wildcats also both attempted and made 17 more shots at the charity stripe than the Bulldogs.
Smith led the way for the Bulldogs with 26 points and eight rebounds. A dry night from Josh Hubbard hindered Mississippi State’s ability to compete with Kentucky on the scoreboard. The freshman standout shot 1/11 from the floor and had just three points. Reeves led the Wildcats in scoring with 27 points.
Next up for MSU is a Saturday afternoon home match against Vanderbilt. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT.
No. 22 Ole Miss 80, LSU 89
A late attempt by Ole Miss to overcome a double-digit deficit fell flat in a road battle at LSU.
An early burst by Rebels guard Jaylen Murray led Ole Miss on a 9-3 run in the first four minutes of action, but LSU quickly countered. A Jalen Reed three-pointer tied up the ballgame at the eight-minute mark of the half and gave LSU a spark of momentum.
LSU mounted a 35-33 lead at the half, mostly due to lackluster shooting from the Rebels. The Tigers then went on to dominate the majority of the final 20 minutes of play.
Led by a dominant showing from Jordan Wright, LSU pulled away from Ole Miss in the first 10 minutes of the half, taking a 64-48 lead. The Rebels were able to get the deficit down to six, but a 13-0 Tigers run put Chris Beard’s group behind the eight-ball with three minutes remaining.
While Ole Miss was seemingly bullied by LSU with the game appearing to be out of reach, a spark in the waning minutes of the game put the Rebels back in contention. Forward Allen Flanigan, who had been stagnant offensively earlier in the match, led his team on a 10-0 run to put the Rebels down just five on the scoreboard.
Nevertheless, a triple from LSU guard Mike Williams III ultimately put the nail in the coffin and left Ole Miss with no further opportunities to claw back into the game.
Despite LSU turning the ball over five more times than Ole Miss, the Rebels failed to capitalize on the Tigers’ mistakes throughout the game. The basket was more favorable toward the Tigers in the midweek match with LSU shooting 48.3% from the floor and 47.6% from three.
Ole Miss, on the other hand, had one of their worst offensive outings, shooting field goals at 36.9% and triples at 25%
Jaelyn Murray led Ole Miss in scoring with 23 points. Three other Rebels scored double-digits — Flanigan with 20, Matthew Murrell with 19, and Jaemyn Brakefield with 13. Wright was the Tiger with the hot hand with 27 points.
The Rebels will continue SEC play at No. 13 Auburn on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT.
