Bulldogs lose another first half lead in 68-67 loss to Ole Miss

Mississippi State has established a troubling trend in the last two weeks.

The Bulldogs built double-digit leads against Kentucky and Alabama in the first half only to see their foe comeback and win the game.

That trend continued Saturday against their biggest rival, Ole Miss.

Mississippi State led by as many as 11 points at the midway point of the first half, but couldn’t hold the lead, entering halftime with just a three-point lead and eventually ending with a 68-67 loss to the Rebels.

The loss stings not only because it’s the third-straight game Mississippi State has lost after holding a double-digit lead in the first half. But also because it came against Ole Miss and came on a night Josh Hubbard was ice cold.

The Bulldogs’ leading scorer didn’t lead his team in scoring Saturday night. Jayden Epps led Mississippi State with 14 points. Hubbard had 13 points, but went 3-for-16 from the field, 2-for-8 on three-pointers and 5-for-10 from the charity stripe.

To be fair, it wasn’t a great night from the floor for either the Bulldogs or Rebels.

Mississippi State show 37 percent from the field and Ole Miss was only slightly better, shooting 40.8. The first half ended with the Bulldogs leading 30-27. Both teams entered the game averaging more than 75 points per game.

Despite all of that (or maybe because all of that) neither side was able to pull away and build a big lead in the second. The Rebels’ biggest lead was just five points at the 2:14 mark of the second half.

Not long after the Rebels built that lead, Hubbard made a long three-pointer to make the score 66-65. Ole Miss’s AJ Storr missed a field goal on the ensuing possession and Hubbard drew a foul driving to the basket.

He made those two free throws, bringing him to 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Unfortunately, he’d the game 5-of-10.

Ole Miss called a timeout after Hubbard’s free throws and set up an inbounds play. It worked almost perfectly, but Patton Pinkins missed his shots.

Mississippi State grabbed the rebound, got the ball to Hubbard who drove the lane and drew another foul.

Down 68-67 with 12 seconds left in the game, Hubbard missed both free throws. The Rebels got the rebound and were quickly fouled.

Storr missed his free throw and Mississippi State grabbed the rebound and ran the same play.

Hubbard got the ball, drove the lane only this time he didn’t get fouled and missed the layup. Ole Miss got the rebound with one second left and then the buzzer sounded.

Next Up

Mississippi State is now on a three-game losing streak with a 10-8 overall record and 2-3 in SEC games. The Bulldogs will try and right the ship Wednesday on a road trip to Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network.

Next Up

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