The University of Mississippi Athletics
Mississippi Defeats Mississippi State, 81-68
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
January 20, 1999
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Jason Flanigan and Michael White had career-high scoring nights as Mississippi beat Mississippi State 81-68 Wednesday night, snapping the Rebels first homecourt losing streak in three years.
Flanigan, who finished with 20 points, equaled his previous career high with 13 in the first half when the Rebels (13-6, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) took a 38-32 lead. Ole Miss quickly extended the margin after halftime.
Mississippi State (13-6, 3-3) got a layup from Tang Hamilton in the opening seconds of the second half, but Ole Miss then scored seven straight points for a double-digit lead it held for most of the remainder of the game.
Keith Carter's reverse layup, on a pass from Jason Smith, gave the Rebels a 45-34 lead with 17:35 left. That came soon after a 3-pointer by White, the starting point guard who returned to the lineup a week after injuring his ankle.
White finished with 17 points while Carter had 14. Rahim Lockhart had a game-high 12 rebounds for Ole Miss, which had a 38-37 rebounding advantage after a 20-13 edge in the final 17:21 while protecting its lead.
Ole Miss had a school-record 29-game home winning streak before losses last week to No. 6 Auburn and No. 7 Kentucky. Even with those setbacks, the Rebels have won 45 of their last 48 games at Tad Smith Coliseum the past three years.
The Rebels have won four straight games in the series against Mississippi State. The instate SEC rivals play again Feb. 20 in Starkville.
After falling behind, Mississippi State could not catch up as its starting senior guards continued to struggle shooting. Detrick White and Bart Hyche are a combined 29-of-97 shooting (30 percent) in SEC games.
White led the Bulldogs with 14 points, but was just 4-of-13 shooting with three 3-pointers. Hyche was 3-of-10, all of his baskets 3s, and finished with 11 points.
Mississippi State twice in the first half took the lead with 3-pointers. Both times Ole Miss immediately responded with 3s of its own.
After Hyche's 3-pointer with 4:02 left gave State a 30-29 lead, Carter hit a trey at the other end, starting a 9-2 run that put the Rebels ahead for good.
The Bulldogs took their first lead when Detrick White's 3-pointer made it 14-13 with 10:31 left. At the other end, Michael White buried a trey to put Ole Miss back in the lead.
