Jaylen Murray scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half and finished with 11 assists as Ole Miss held off visiting Mississippi State 86-82 on Tuesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Matthew Murrell added 20 points, TJ Caldwell scored 18 and Jaemyn Brakefield had 10 for the Rebels (18-3, 5-3 SEC), who improved to 13-0 at home.
Josh Hubbard scored 21 points, Cameron Matthews had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Dashawn Davis scored 15 points and Shakeel Moore had 13 for the Bulldogs (14-7, 3-5).
Moussa Cisse made a dunk and Murrell and Brakefield followed with layups as Ole Miss scored the first six points of the second half to take a 45-39 lead.
Tolu Smith III made two free throws for MSU’s first points of the half, after more than three minutes, but Brakefield and Caldwell made consecutive 3-pointers to expand the lead to 51-41.
Davis made a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs’ first field goal nearly six minutes into the half, and his three-point play and Matthews’ dunk got MSU within six points.
Murray scored the next four points to push the lead to 10. The Bulldogs led by eight after Brakefield made a layup, but Moore and Hubbard answered with consecutive 3-pointers to help MSU within 74-73.
The Bulldogs got within one again before Murray made a 3-pointer. After Hubbard made two free throws, Murray made another 3-pointer for an 82-77 lead.
Davis’ 3-pointer trimmed the lead to two points with 1:18 left. After an exchange of layups, Murray missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to give MSU a chance to tie or take the lead.
Matthews was fouled with four seconds left. He missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get the rebound. Caldwell made two free throws.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, the score was tied three times and the lead changed hands four times.
Hubbard scored five consecutive points to help MSU take its biggest lead of the half, 27-20.
The Rebels pulled even at 34, and Murrell’s jumper and Murray’s 3-pointer helped Ole Miss forge a 39-39 tie at halftime.
–Field Level Media
