A superb shooting night by highly touted freshman phenom Malik Newman propelled the Mississippi State Bulldogs to an 83-77 victory over in-state rival Ole Miss Saturday.
Mississippi State’s freshman guard Malik Newman said, “It felt good to come out and get that first win against a rival.”
 The game was a crucial one, as Mississippi State took on their in-state rival from Oxford. Heading into the game, the Bulldogs were coming off a five game losing streak. Even though they’ve had a disappointing record so far, Bulldog fans continued to support the team by having a boisterous crowd Saturday. In the in-state rivalry, Mississippi State currently holds the all-time record of 140-106. 
Both Malik Newman and Quinndary Witherspoon had terrific games, while Newman had a career high of 25 points in the game. Witherspoon also brought in help from the bench, collecting 18 points as well. After the game, Newman said “It was a great game for me. My teammates did a great job of giving me good looks. It was an exciting game and we really needed that.” 
This would also be Ben Howland’s first SEC win as head coach for the Bulldogs. “That was a big win for our guys. We started out strong at 17-8, Fred Ross gave us some good minutes in the first half.” When asked about Newman’s performance, Howland responded, “Malik was fantastic! He took the game over in the second half. I thought he was great the entire game. He was aggressive. He let the game come to him. He was spectacular!”
For the seniors on the team, this would be their last game at home playing their rival. “I am happy for our seniors. Gavin Ware, Fred Ross and Craig “Chicken” Sword. It was the last chance to get to play the rival at home. It was a special win for them.” 
With the crowd nearly full, the Bulldogs used them as momentum to shift the game to their benefit. 
After the first half, the Bulldogs were down 38-36 going into halftime. Post first half, the Rebels continued the lead with 45-39 until a three pointer by Witherspoon and a shot by Ware shrunk the lead to just 47-46. “The crowd was really great today and we fed off them,” Newman said. 
Malik hit back-to-back three point shots to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 run in the second half. The Bulldogs seemed to keep the foot down the rest of the game even though Ole Miss appeared to have a rebounding advantage of 36-31. That still wasn’t enough to hold off the Bulldogs to their first SEC victory. 
Next week, Mississippi State will be traveling to play South Carolina. The Gamecocks are currently number five in the conference play with a record of 17-2. This will be one of the toughest road matches the Bulldogs will face this season. The Bulldogs are currently last in the SEC, but they are looking to improve with that first win against Ole Miss. Look for Mississippi State to use Malik Newman and Quinndary Witherspoon more as they continue to grow in Ben Howland’s system on the court. Also, as Ware ends this season, look for him to become more impactful as well as starting point guard I.J. Ready. The Bulldogs may be in their rebuilding stage, but that isn’t an excuse when it comes down to their in-state rival from Oxford.