STARKVILLE, Miss. — In a thrilling showdown on Saturday night, Riley Kugel delivered a standout performance, scoring a season-best 21 points for No. 15 Mississippi State as they edged No. 21 Ole Miss 84-81 in overtime.

The game saw Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1 in the Southeastern Conference) come back from a 73-69 deficit in the closing 42 seconds of regulation. Matthew Murrell’s clutch 3-pointer tied the game at 74-74 with nine seconds left. Kugel’s last-second 3-point shot attempt missed the mark, prompting an extension of the battle into overtime.

KeShawn Murphy contributed significantly for Mississippi State (15-3, 3-2) with 18 points, while RJ Melendez added 12 points along with seven rebounds. The Bulldogs also saw Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews chip in with 10 points each, with Matthews pulling down 11 boards.

For Ole Miss, Jaemyn Brakefield led the scoring with 20 points and Sean Pedulla added 18. Murrell had an impressive second-half showing, finishing with 15 points, but Brakefield’s attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of overtime fell short.

Mississippi State got off to a strong start, taking a commanding 14-2 lead after Kugel hit a 3-pointer midway through the first half. The Bulldogs maintained a 14-point advantage in the first half and went into halftime up 37-29.

In terms of performance, Malik Dia, who had a remarkable outing with 21 points and 19 rebounds against Alabama earlier in the week, struggled on this occasion, managing only eight points and two rebounds.

With this victory, Mississippi State’s head coach Chris Jans improved his coaching record against Ole Miss to 4-1.

One of the standout statistics from the game was the rebounding differential; the Bulldogs dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Ole Miss 25-10 in the first half and 51-29 overall. They also held a significant 19-8 advantage on offensive rebounds.

Looking ahead, Ole Miss is set to host Texas A&M on Wednesday night, while Mississippi State will be traveling to Tennessee on Tuesday night.