STARKVILLE — While there were some bright spots on offense for the University of Mississippi Thursday night, the Rebels could not overcome off shooting nights from Nick Williams and Terrance Henry.
The duo was a combined 2-for-15 from the field and Ole Miss could never build enough offense to overtake Mississippi State.
Trying to sweep the season series for the first time in 14 years, the Rebels dropped a 70-60 Southeastern Conference decision in the Humphrey Coliseum.
“When you look at the stat line, and you see a doughnut (zero points) for Nick Williams, that is not a good thing for us,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “He is the one that makes our offense go.
“We had a tough time overcoming that tonight.”
The Bulldogs scored the game’s first eight points and were on the attack from the opening tip.
Ole Miss stayed within striking distance thanks to another strong performance from Reginald Buckner.
Buckner had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the Rebels’ 75-68 victor last month in Oxford.
Buckner again had a team-high 15 points Thursday night.
Still, help from the other hands were limited. Jarvis Summers added 12 points and Jelan Kendrick added 11 points.
“To see (Henry and Williams) go 2-for-15 is tough for us,” Kendrick said. “They both had off nights. However, they are both really good shooters and team players.
“I know they will get back in the gym and work out whatever is wrong. We need them for us to win our next game.”
In need of boosting its NCAA resume, the Rebels let a golden opportunity at a road victory over a ranked opponent slip away Thursday night.
The Rebels are now 14-9 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Ole Miss is 3-6 in road games this season, including its lone conference road win at Georgia.
“The next two games are must wins for us, Kendrick said. “We have two teams coming into our place and we have to play really well and defend our home court.
“There is a lot of basketball left to be played. We have to take advantage of our opportunities.”
In the past month, there has been an unusually high amount of trash talk between the two camps.
Summers admitted the victory by Ole Miss in January apparently served as motivation for the Maroon and White.
“We beat them at our place and you could tell they didn’t like that,” Summers said. “They really came out fired up and ready to play. It’s not like we didn’t play well. We did okay.
“But we didn’t match their intensity and that is something that you have to make sure you do to be able to win on the road.”
Ole Miss shot 43.1 percent from the floor and only made six turnovers. However, the Rebels never recovered the from the early run and actually trailed by 18 points at one point in the second half.
“Nick was 0–for-5 at the half, so that means he took one shot in the second half,” Kennedy said. “You could tell there was a lack of confidence for some of the things that we were doing on the floor.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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