Four weeks ago, Mississippi State’s leading scorer Josh Hubbard had a rough outing against Ole Miss.
Hubbard had 13 points, but made only three field goals in the game and missed a potential game-winning layup and free throws in the final minute of a one-point loss.
He made up for that performance in Saturday night’s rematch against Ole Miss. This time, Hubbard missed only four field goals while scoring 32 points and leading the Bulldogs to a 90-78win against Ole Miss.
The loss extends the Rebels’ current losing streak to seven games and, for all intents and purposes, ends their faint hopes of earning an at-large big to the NCAA Tournament. Now, any postseason hopes rest on winning the SEC Tournament.
Here’s how Saturday’s game played out at SJB Pavilion.
First Half Reaction
Ole Miss has erased big first‑half deficits before, including an 18‑point hole just a week ago, so Mississippi State knows its 47-28 halftime lead isn’t automatically safe. But the difference tonight is who finished the half with momentum. Against Texas, the Rebels closed strong. This time, it was all Bulldogs.
Mississippi State ended the half on a 16-2 run, making its final seven shots. Ole Miss, meanwhile, needed a Koren Johnson jumper with 31 seconds left just to stop a 3:10 scoring drought.
That drought came right after the Rebels’ best stretch of the half. After Achor Achor personally staked Mississippi State to an 11-3 lead (scoring all 11) Ole Miss chipped away and cut the margin to 24-21 with 7:43 remaining.
But out of the under‑eight timeout, Jamarion Davis‑Fleming detonated a poster dunk, Josh Hubbard broke the program’s career three‑pointers record, and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Mississippi State shot 62.1% from the field and went 5‑of‑11 from deep while dominating the glass 23-14. Hubbard led all scorers with 16 points on near‑perfect shooting, and Achor added 11 on just one miss.
AJ Storr was the lone Rebel in double figures with 12 off the bench. Malik Dia returned to the starting lineup and contributed eight points and three rebounds.
Second Half Reaction
Ole Miss never had a real chance to recreate last week’s massive comeback against Texas, not with Mississippi State shooting 63.2% from the field after halftime. The Bulldogs kept control on the glass as well, finishing with a 38-36 edge and outscoring the Rebels 34-26 in the paint.
Ole Miss did shoot over 50% in the second half, but Hubbard and the Bulldogs never cooled off. Dia was especially dominant in the final 20 minutes, pouring in 24 points on 8‑of‑11 shooting.
Achor added a season‑high 18 points while missing only two shots.
The Rebels made a few small pushes — including a stretch where they hit five straight to cut the deficit to 12 — but every time Ole Miss threatened, Hubbard had an answer.
Ole Miss Top Performers
- Points: Malik Dia, 32
- Rebounds: Malik Dia, 7
- Assists: Ilias Kamardine/AJ Storr, 5
- Steals: AJ Storr/Eduardo Klafke, 2
- Blocks: Zach Day, 2
Mississippi State Top Performers
- Points: Josh Hubbard, 32
- Rebounds: Shaw Jones Jr./Jayden Epps, 7
- Assists: Josh Hubbard, 6
- Steals: Three with 1
- Blocks: Quincy Ballard/King Grace, 1
Next Up
Where Ole Miss goes from here will be discovered soon enough. With a trip the NCAA Tournament relying on a miracle run in the SEC Tournament, the Rebels will look to try and at least end its seven-game losing streak on road trip to Texas A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC).
