Mississippi forward Sebastian Saiz (11) defends the ball against Mississippi State’ s Gavin Ware during Wednesday’s game against Mississippi State. (DM Photo | Payton Teffner)
In the 250th matchup between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Rebels came out on top 79-73 in a thrilling basketball game.
“I told them it was a gutsy win,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Mississippi State came in and hit us with a good shot, and for our guys to have not played their best, to continue to grind and find a way to make the plays down the stretch again shows growth.”
Ole Miss (13-7, 4-3 SEC) came out flat in the first half, trailing 13-2 and missing their first seven shots. Although the Rebels responded on a 19-5 run that gave them a brief lead at 21-18 with 7:54 remaining in the first half, Mississippi State (9-11, 2-5 SEC) would then respond to stun the Tad Smith Coliseum as they took a 34-30 lead at halftime. Ole Miss only shot 30 percent at halftime and shot 2-of-11 from three-point range.
In a game that was “life or death” according to sophomore point guard I.J. Ready, MSU opened the second half on a 14-4 scoring run, which guided them to a 45-32 lead with 16:29 remaining in the game. Shortly after, the second half belonged to Ole Miss senior point guard Jarvis Summers, who put on a clinic, scoring 22 points all in the second half.
Ole Miss tied the game at 60-60 with 6:16 remaining in the half. However, the dagger came at the 3:15 mark when Jarvis Summers got fouled and threw up a double-clutch prayer from beyond the arc that went in. Summers converted the 4-point play to seal the victory for the Rebels.
“It was a mismatch, and I took the three as the time was winding down, and I got fouled and luckily, made the shot,” Summers said. “God just blessed me to let the ball go in.”
Summers played aggressive like the senior leader the team needed this game as he made 12-of-15 free throws that rallied the Rebels in the second half.
“It didn’t look like he had any pop in the first half, and he had been struggling,” Kennedy said. “He wasn’t putting pressure on the defense. We challenged him at the half, and he responded.”
Summers has gone 4-0 against Mississippi State at the Tad Smith Coliseum in his career at Ole Miss.
“I just can’t lose against them. We are playing our rival, and we have to do whatever it takes to win,” Summers said.
Mississippi State lost the game despite shooting 55.6 percent from the field and out-rebounding the Rebels 34-31.
“I give our guys credit for staying in the fight and making enough plays to survive,” Kennedy said.
Ole Miss has won consecutive conference games for the first time all season. The Rebels will have another opportunity to continue their winning streak as they’ll face a struggling Missouri team (7-12, 1-5 SEC) on Saturday.
“If you’re going to play meaningful basketball in March, you have to win your home games,” Kennedy said. “We obviously did not do that in non-conference. Tonight, we just happened to make the plays, and our guys are getting more comfortable in the moment.”
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