Video: Moody Leads Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Past Mississippi State

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Stefan Moody scored a career-high 43 points, Sebastian Saiz and Anthony Perez each added 10 and Mississippi beat Mississippi State 86-78 on Wednesday night.

Moody’s stellar performance came on his Senior Night at The Pavilion. The 5-foot-10 guard has scored more than 1,200 career points in less than two full seasons with the Rebels after transferring from a junior college.

Ole Miss (19-11, 9-8 SEC) has won three of its last four games.

Mississippi State (13-16, 6-11) won the season’s first meeting against Ole Miss 83-77 on Jan. 23 in Starkville, but that was when starters Moody, Saiz and Martavious Newby were all out with injuries.

All three were back on Wednesday and after Moody’s early barrage – 24 points in the first half – it was obvious the Bulldogs were in trouble.

Mississippi State was led by Gavin Ware’s 28 points. Freshman Quinndary Weatherspoon added 15.

Ole Miss led by as many as 15 points in the first half and had a 44-32 advantage at halftime mostly thanks to Moody’s terrific shooting.

Moody came into the game leading the SEC with more than 22 points per game. He hit that number with more than five minutes left in the first half, shaking free from a defender and then hitting his fourth 3-pointer from about 25 feet.

His previous career high was 33 points against LSU in January.

Mississippi State has been an improved program of late, beating possible NCAA Tournament teams like South Carolina, Alabama and Vanderbilt over the past few two weeks. But the Bulldogs never had a consistent answer for Moody, who mixed 3-pointers with drives to the basket.

He finished 11 of 24 from the field, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. He was 15 of 18 on free throws and also had six assists.

Mississippi State’s Ware countered with an impressive night, making 11 of 14 shots from the field. The Bulldogs rallied to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 55-49 with about 15 minutes left, but could get no closer.

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TIP-INS

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs played the Rebels for the 254th time in the series. That’s the most between two teams in the SEC. Mississippi State has a 94-25 record in Starkville and a 43-82 record in Oxford.

Ole Miss: The Rebels honored four seniors on Senior Night: Moody, Tomasz Gielo, Newby and Perez. All of them played important roles this season.

UP NEXT

Mississippi State hosts Auburn on Saturday.

Ole Miss travels to face Tennessee on Saturday.