Mississippi State
10-8,2-3SEC
Ole Miss
11-7,3-2SEC
The Final Horn: Ole Miss 68, State 67
January 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball
THE BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State fell short in a 68-67 decision against rival Ole Miss at Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday night. The first half was a gritty and physical battle as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and sustained a 30-27 edge heading into the halftime break. The Rebels briefly took their first lead of the night early in the second half before the game entered a neck-and-neck fight up until the very end. With Ole Miss up 51-47, the Bulldogs rallied back in front with back-to-back triples from Josh Hubbard and Ja'Borri McGhee.
As the game entered crunch time, State's Jamarion Davis-Fleming tied the game 59-59 at the charity stripe with 3:29 to go. The Rebels scored five straight before Davis-Fleming flushed a jam to make it 64-61 at the 2:00 minute mark. A minute later, Hubbard brought the Dawgs even closer when he sank a three to cut the Ole Miss lead to 66-65. On MSU's next possession, Hubbard was fouled on a drive and sank both free throws to give State the 67-66 edge with 34.7 remaining in regulation. Ole Miss responded with a bucket with 19 seconds remaining that ultimately served as the decisive shot.
KEY NUMBERS: Jayden Epps led State in scoring with 14 points. Hubbard added 13 points and five assists, Davis-Fleming had 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and Sergej Macura tallied nine points and 11 boards. Despite out-rebounding the Rebels 46-43, it wasn't enough for the Dawgs.  Â
NEXT UP FOR MSU: The Bulldogs travel to College Station and face the Texas A&M Aggies on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the contest will be aired on SEC Network.
