Postgame Notes: State vs. Ole Miss

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State nearly came away with its first true road win of the season before dropping a hard-fought 86-82 battle to Ole Miss to move its record to 14-7 overall and 3-5 in SEC action.
The Bulldogs had their three-game winning streak over the Rebels come to a close. Overall, State still holds a 149-120 series advantage in one of the most-played rivalries in college basketball.
The Maroon and White were playing its 7th NCAA NET Quad 1 during its first eight SEC games. Not only are the Bulldogs the lone SEC team, State is joined by UCF from the Big 12 as the only schools in the Power 6 conferences (ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12) to start league play with 7 of their first 8 games as NCAA NET Quad 1 outings.
State jumped out to its largest lead at 32-25 with 3:23 to go in the first on a driving layup courtesy of Dashawn Davis.
Ole Miss crept it way back in with 14 of the last 21 points to draw even at 39-39 heading into the locker. The Rebels kept the momentum with a 12-2 flurry to build a 51-41 edge at the 15:18 mark.
Trailing 71-63 with 7:24 remaining, State charged back with a 10-3 run to get within a single point at 74-73 on a Cameron Matthews coast-to-coast dunk.
Down 84-82 in the closing seconds, Matthews was fouled driving to the basket but misfired on both free throw attempts. Ole Miss converted on its two foul shots on the ensuing possession to close out the 4-point decision.
State had four players secure double figures which marks the 8th time this season the Bulldogs have accomplished the feat. The Maroon and White drop to 6-2 in those contests.
The Bulldogs tucked away a 38-25 rebounding edge and have won the battle of the boards during 17 of 21 games this season.
State has earned a 10-plus rebounding advantage in seven games this season and on 17 overall occasions under Coach Jans over the last two seasons.
State dialed up 16 of the game's 20 points courtesy of second-chance points. The Bulldogs also scored 22 of their 30 baskets on the interior in route to gain a 44-32 edge in paint points.
A key for the Rebels was converting 15 State turnovers into 18 of the game's 22 points off miscues. Ole Miss also got a career-best 18 points off the bench from T.J. Caldwell aided by four three-pointers.
State connected on 30-of-56 from the floor (53.6 percent), sank 8-of-18 from three-point territory (44.4 percent) and hit on 14-of-20 at the charity stripe (70.0 percent).
Conversely, Ole Miss turned in a 32-for-63 shooting effort (50.8 percent), sank 12-for-30 of its three-pointers (40.0 percent) and produced a 10-for-13 clip from the free throw line (76.9 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith III

Started in 91 of his 94 career games at State.
Totaled 9 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist.
Finished 5-of-7 from the charity stripe which marks his 6th outing of the season and 34th career outing with 5+ free throws made.
The 9 points gives Smith III 1,356 career points and moves him into 19th-place on the program's all-time list.
Smith III eclipsed his former teammate, Tyson Carter (2017-18-19-20), on the scoring list during tonight's game.

Cameron Matthews

Started 54 of the team's 55 games over the last two seasons.
Stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
Secured his 2nd straight double-double, his 3rd double-double of 2023-24 and the 4th double-double of his career.
Marked his 10th game of the season in double figures with 18 of his 21 games with 10+ points over the last two seasons.
The 16 points is Matthews's 4th-highest scoring output of his career.
MSU falls to 16-5 overall when Matthews scores in double figures.
Grabbed 10+ rebounds for the 5th outing in 2023-24 and 11th career outing.
Matthews' 12 rebounds gives him 552 for his career and moves him into 31st-place on the program's all-time rebounds list.
He surpassed Ray White (1776-77-78-79) and Jerry Jenkins (1973-74-75) on the all-time rebounds list during tonight's contest.
Handed out 5+ dimes for the 6th time this season and 11th time of his career.
State dropped to 8-3 when Matthews delivers 5+ assists.
39 of 57 games of 2+ assists and 38 of 56 games of 5+ rebounds have come during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

D.J. Jeffries

Started 86 of 89 career games at State.
Managed 3 points and 5 rebounds.
Marked his 15th game of 2023-24 and 68th career outing with 5+ rebounds.
Recorded a steal in 16 of 21 outings this season.

Josh Hubbard

Earned the nod in the starting five for the second-straight game.
Collected a team-leading 21 points, 16 coming during the opening half, and has registered 20+ points in 6 outings.
Produced double figures in 18 of 21 games this season.
Distributed a season-high 7 assists which marks his first outing of 5+ dimes.
Also matched a season-best with 4 rebounds.
Amassed 319 total points which is 5th-most for a freshman in program history through 21 games and the most since Rickey Brown (1976-77).
Knocked down multiple treys for the 18th time and drained 59 of his 102 field goals from beyond the arc (57.8 percent).
Marked his 10th game of the season with 5+ field goals made.
Finished a flawless 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Shakeel Moore

Made 57 of his 59 career starts while at State and has started the team's last 13 games.
Secured 14 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Registered his 8th outing of the season with 10+ points.
35 of his 40 games of double figures have come in the Maroon and White.
The Bulldogs fall to 5-3 this season, while Mississippi State and North Carolina State are a combined 27-13 when Moore scores 10+ points.
Connected on 2+ threes for the 2nd time this season with 27 of his 34 career outings with multiple treys coming with the Bulldogs.
Secured multiple steals for the 5th outing this season with 38 of Moore's 49 career performances coming with the Bulldogs.

Bench

Dashawn Davis led the bench with a season's best 15 points sparked by a 13-point effort in the second half.
Came away with double-figures for the 7th time this season and 33rd time of his career.
Finished 6-for-8 from the field which marks his 3rd outing of the season and 25th career outing with 5+ field goals made.
Drained multiple treys for the 5th time this season and 15th time of his career.
Shawn Jones Jr. compiled 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Five of Jones Jr.'s six games with multiple dimes have come this season.
Jimmy Bell Jr. added on 2 points, 2 rebounds and an assist.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: State vs. Ole Miss

Players Mentioned

Jimmy Bell Jr.

Dashawn Davis

Josh Hubbard

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Shakeel Moore

Tolu Smith III

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