Mississippi State. Ole Miss. Two schools with an enormous amount of hate for one another met on the hardwood at the Hump on Saturday night as the Bulldogs of Mississippi State welcomed the Rebels to Starkville for a massive Saturday night matchup in the Southeastern Conference. When these two meet in any sport, records don’t matter, and Saturday night at the Hump would likely deliver another instant classic to the storied book of the battle for Mississippi. 

Mississippi State raced out to an early 6-0 lead over the Rebels, but Ole Miss fought back, taking a 6-5 deficit to Mississippi State to the first media timeout of the game. At the under-12 media timeout of the first half, the Mississippi State Bulldogs held on to an 11-7 advantage over Ole Miss. Mississippi State extending the lead to 22-11 would force Coach Beard to call a timeout with 9:23 in the first half. At the under-8 media timeout, it was still all Mississippi State as the Bulldogs held a 24-17 lead over the Rebels. At the final media timeout of the first half, it was Mississippi State holding on to a 28-23 lead over Ole Miss. At halftime, it was the Mississippi State Bulldogs with a 30-27 lead over Ole Miss. 

Both teams shot a combined 1-25 from behind the three-point line in the first half. 

Ilias Kamardine led both teams in scoring with eight points for the Rebels in the first half. 

Ole Miss opened the second half on a tear, flipping the script and taking a 38-35 lead over Mississippi State at the under-16 media timeout with 15:17 remaining in the game. At the under-12 media timeout, Ole Miss led Mississippi State 46-45 with 10:22 to play in the game. At the under-8, Ole Miss led Mississippi State 51-50. As the final media timeout rolled around, the Rebels would be holding on for dear life to a 59-58 lead over Mississippi State with 3:29 to play. A Mississippi State timeout with 2:00 would try to stop the Ole Miss roll as the Rebels led the Bulldogs 64-61, setting up for a fun finish inside the Hump. AJ Storr would nail a jumpshot to extend the Ole Miss lead to 66-62. Josh Hubbard would nail two free throws to retake a 67-66 lead with 29.2 seconds remaining. With the game on the line, Josh Hubbard would miss two free throws that would have given Mississippi State the lead with 9.1 seconds before the Rebels escaped Starkville with a 68-67 victory. 

Ilias Kamardine led both teams in scoring with 17 points on Saturday night. 

Another incredible game between the Rebels and Bulldogs as Ole Miss escapes Starkville with a 68-67 victory. A great win for Ole Miss, and a gut punch for Mississippi State, as the second half once again proved to be too much for Mississippi State. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss basketball on X