Mississippi State
18-9,6-8SEC
Ole Miss
10-17,2-12SEC
Dawgs Top Rebs To Sweep Season Series
February 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Joel Coleman
State wins 69-61 in overtime.
OXFORD – Seconds before tipoff, the music blared inside the SJB Pavilion on Saturday as Mississippi State and Ole Miss were set to square off.
Over and over again, the lyrics of the song loudly proclaimed, 'We run this.'
As it turns out, 'We' was MSU, and 'This' was the state of Mississippi as the Bulldogs polished off a regular-season sweep of the rival Rebels.
State topped Ole Miss 69-61 in overtime. The Bulldogs have much bigger fish to fry over the long term as they seek an NCAA Tournament spot, but it wasn't lost on anyone how big it was to beat the Rebels once again after also topping them 64-54 last month.
"You know, rivalry games are a big deal," State head coach Chris Jans said. "Everywhere I've been, I've made it a point to jump right in the middle of it and be about it and not shy away from it. That's been our attitude everywhere we've been, and it's been no different when we got here."
Said Mississippi native, junior Cameron Matthews: "It's my first time sweeping them, so it feels good."
There were many in Oxford just as satisfied as Matthews. Outside of the Bulldogs on the court, a large contingent of MSU fans made the trek into rival territory. As time was running out, they made their voices heard with loud chants of, 'Let's go State!'
"I knew we'd have some folks, I didn't realize we'd have that many," Jans said. "To hear our fanbase and enjoy that, that makes us feel so good. We talk about leading up to these games, how meaningful they are. Just to make people smile…It means a lot. It means a lot to our program, our university and Bulldog fans everywhere. Glad to be a part of it."
The smiles were all well-earned, for Saturday's victory was far, far from an easy one. The Bulldogs saw an early 10-point lead slip away and trailed in the closing seconds of regulation before finding a way to extend the game and get the triumph.
Tolu Smith recorded his 21st career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Matthews scored 17 points of his own to go along with seven boards.
It was Smith's bucket with 29 seconds left in the second half that tied the game and put it on track for an extra period. That was solidified when, on the other end, MSU's Eric Reed, Jr., blocked what could've been a game-winning jumper out of the hands of Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell.
Then in overtime, State's Dashawn Davis took over. He scored six points in the frame and the MSU defense held the Rebels without a field goal over the final 2:58 to lock down the win.
It certainly wasn't always pretty. After jumping out to a 14-4 lead in the first half, turnovers haunted Mississippi State and allowed Ole Miss to fight back and eventually take a 33-32 lead by halftime. The second half was a struggle as well, as neither team shot over 30 percent in the half and the two clubs were never separated by more than three points.
But once in overtime, the Bulldogs did what matters most. They got the job done.
On the road to the madness of March, it's not really about style points. It's about scoring the most points. That's what State did as the Dawgs won again, and in the process, broke out the brooms on their instate foe.
Mississippi State has now won six of its last seven games and looks to continue its momentum on Tuesday. That's when the Bulldogs battle Missouri in another road tilt. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Columbia.
