Mississippi State lost a heartbreaker Saturday, falling 67-63 at home to Ole Miss. The loss marks the first at home to the Rebels in over a decade.
State fell to 14-7 (4-2 SEC) with the loss, while the Rebels moved to 12-9 (3-4).
Junior guard David Huertas hit a pair of free throws with under 10 seconds remaining to push the Rebel lead to four points and ultimately cap the scoring.
MSU began in dominant fashion, scoring the game’s first nine points.
The Bulldogs ran the gamut in the first four minutes, picking up three-pointers from Barry Stewart and Phil Turner, a pair of blocks, a steal and a thundering, two-feet-above-the-rim dunk by sophomore Ravern Johnson.
The 10-point lead the Bulldogs maintained for much of the first half didn’t faze the Rebels, however, and they fought back to eventually take their first lead, 28-27 on a three-pointer by Terrico White.
With 1:46 left in the half, the Bulldogs took a lead on a jumper by Romero Osby and held on for the rest of the half, going to the locker room with a 37-33 lead.
The first five minutes of the second half saw Ole Miss cut State’s lead to a single point three times before breaking through to take the lead on back-to-back Huertas three-pointers with 14:33 remaining.
Ole Miss later pushed the lead to nine, controlling the game for the next 11 minutes. Perhaps the game’s most decisive possession ended when White hit a three as the shot clock expired after Ole Miss nearly turned the ball over three times.
White led the Rebels with 18 points including 4-of-8 from three-point range.
The Bulldogs later drew as close as two, despite hitting only one field goal in the game’s final 10 minutes.
Ultimately, though, the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome hitting only one of their final 10 three-point attempts combined with the lack of a presence on the offensive boards.
“Ole Miss was playing zone. They play a lot of zone, so you have to make some shots,” MSU coach Rick Stansbury said. “You have to get the ball inside. We shot too many three pointers.”Freshman point guard Dee Bost said he agreed, shouldering much of the blame himself.
“We settled for too many three pointers. It’s something we could have controlled but at the time we weren’t thinking, and that’s my job,” he said.
The Bulldogs played without three players due to suspension: senior forward Brian Johnson, sophomore forward Elgin Bailey and junior guard Jacquiese Holcombe. Brian Johnson and Bailey were suspended one game for missing class, but Holcombe is suspended indefinitely for unspecified reasons.
Stansbury said his team missed its suspended forwards from depth and chemistry standpoints.
“It’s unfortunate that so many people had to suffer for the mistakes [Johnson and Bailey] made,” Stansbury said.
Bailey and Brian Johnson traveled with the team to Kentucky for tonight’s game against SEC East-leading Kentucky (16-6, 5-2).
Like MSU, the Wildcats enter the game fresh off a disappointing stretch, having dropped two straight after a fast start that saw them rise to a No. 24 ranking in the AP poll.
Kentucky is led by the conference’s leading scorer, junior guard Jodie Meeks. Stansbury called Meeks “the best two-guard in America.”
The tall order of guarding Meeks falls to Stewart, who Stansbury maintains is his best defender.
“It’s going to be a great challenge. He’s a great shooter, a great offensive guy,” Stewart said. “Not only that, but he’s a great defender, so it’s really going to be a challenge.”
Mississippi State has only won once in Rupp Arena, in 1995.