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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State was completely dominated by rival Ole Miss in Tuesday’s 64-46 loss at Humphrey Coliseum.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 9-6 (4-3 SEC), while the Rebels improve to 7-6 (2-4 SEC). The Rebels have now defeated the Bulldogs in 11 of the last 15 meetings overall.
Redshirt sophomore guard D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 18 points on 7-for-16 shooting to lead MSU. Redshirt sophomore forward Tolu Smith was the only other Bulldog to score in double figures and finished with 10 points, two of which came in the final three minutes of the game.
Mississippi State shot a dismal 18-for-52 (34.6%) from the field and just 4-for-14 (28.6%) on 3-pointers. MSU also turned the ball over 12 times, two more than Ole Miss, and was outrebounded 37-31.
Ole Miss was led by senior guard Devontae Shuler with 22 points, three rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Jarkel Joiner added 12 points and five rebounds.
The Rebels shot 26-for-57 (45.6%) from the field. They made 5 of 18 (27.8%) 3-pointers and seven of eight (87.5%) free throws.
The Bulldogs led 7-3 at the first media timeout. Ole Miss junior forward KJ Buffen then hit a triple to make it 7-6 with 13:48 left in the first stanza.
Then with the score being 11-8 in favor of MSU, the Rebels scored the next 10 points to take an 18-11 lead with 7:27 left.
A jumper by Smith on an Ole Miss turnover then cut the deficit to three points at 20-17, but Ole Miss made the next two baskets to go back up seven points at 24-17 with 2:34 to play. A last second jumper from Joiner gave the Rebels a 29-21 lead going into the halftime break.
Shuler made a 3-pointer for the Rebels to open the second half, but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run to make it 32-28 with 17:28 to play. However, a 10-0 run by Ole Miss made it 56-41 with 6:46 left and the Bulldogs couldn’t recover from it, falling by 18 points at 64-46.
The Bulldogs will now hit the road to face No. 18 Alabama on Saturday. Tip time is set for 5 p.m. CT.