No. 22 Mississippi State Bounces Back With 81-75 Win Over Rival Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. — Following Tuesday’s loss against Alabama, No. 22 Mississippi State men’s basketball bounced back with an exciting 81-75 win over rival Ole Miss Saturday evening at The Pavilion.

The Bulldogs were fueled by a career game from Reggie Perry combined with a tremendous showing from Quinndary Weatherspoon.

Win the win the Bulldogs improve to 16-5 (4-4 SEC), while the Rebels fall to 14-7 (4-4 SEC).

With the game tied at 8-8 . MSU scored seven straight points to take an early 15-8 lead with 13:14 remaining in the first half. The Rebels then went on a 13-0 lead to take a 21-15 before MSU regained the lead at a score of 24-21.

The two rivals exchanged leads throughout the first half until Ole Miss hit its last five field goals of the half. The Bulldogs went into the half down 43-39.

MSU shot 42.4 percent (14-33) in the opening half, including 4-10 from beyond on the arc. Weatherspoon and Perry put up 13 and 12 respectively in the half.

The Bulldogs trailed for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Perry hit a three to give MSU a 62-60 lead with 9:23 remaining in the ballgame. That was part of a 9-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 66-60 lead.

The game was then tied up 73-73 with 3:53 remaining. Perry hit his second 3-pointer of the game to give MSU a 76-73 lead.

The Bulldog defense held Ole Miss without a field goal for the rest of the game as the Bulldogs made some late-game free throws and escaped The Pavilion with a 81-75 win for the first time since 2010-2011.

Perry finished the game with a career-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds—seven of which came on the offensive end.

Weatherspoon tied his season-high with 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He also knocked down three three-pointers and went 8-of-9 at the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds, four steals and two assists to his evening.

Lamar Peters chipped in with nine points, six assists and two steals

The Bulldogs owned a 40-28 rebounding advantage in the game, including 15 offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs will now head back to Starkville to host the LSU Tigers on Wednesday. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised by ESPN2.