Hardwood Rebs Take Bulldogs to Wire, Rally for 79-73 Win

Jarvis Summers scored all 22 of his points in the second half.
Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss proved no lead was too large Wednesday night as they knocked off in-state rival Mississippi State 79-73 after overcoming two double-digit deficits.

Anthony Perez celebrates his late 3-pointer to tie the game.
Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

After starting the 251st meeting between the Magnolia State schools in a 16-4 hole after missing seven straight, the Rebels went on a 17-2 run off 5 Bulldog turnovers and took a brief 3-point lead in the first half.

A similar scenario presented itself at the beginning of the second half with an 11-point lead for Mississippi State, but senior Jarvis Summers switched the momentum to Ole Miss’ side with a corner 3 to begin a Rebel Run.

Summers was flat in the first half but came out of the locker room on fire with 22 points in the second half and 7 assists in the game. With 3:15 left in the game, Summers is fouled on a made 3 and completed the 4-point play to devastate the Bulldogs. Anthony Perez made his first of two late 3-point shots to tie the game at 60, and Ole Miss continued to dominate for the rest of the game.

Photo courtesy Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics

The No. 1 free throw shooting team in the country used the skill to their advantage, shooting 78 percent from the charity stripe and 26 more free throws than Mississippi State. Stefan Moody contributed 14 and Ladarius White added 12.

Mississippi State guard Craig Sword led the Bulldogs with 5-of-7 3-pointers for 27 points. Gavin Ware had 12, and I.J. Ready scored 10. The Bulldogs’ 16 turnovers compared to Ole Miss’ 6 helped the Rebels get back into a game that looked lost from the start.

Next up, Ole Miss heads to Columbia, Missouri Saturday to tangle with the Tigers.

Amelia Camurati is editor of HottyToddy.com and can be reached at amelia.camurati@hottytoddy.com.