No. 20 Mississippi State beats Mississippi, 70-60

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Dee Bost is Mississippi State's career assists leader, so he knows the art of throwing a good alley-oop pass.

The senior admits his form gets a little sloppy when throwing them to Arnett Moultrie. That's because the 6-foot-11 forward is so athletic he can put nearly anything near the rim into the hoop.

"Some of them are bad passes," Bost said with a grin. "But he just goes and gets them."

The Bost-Moultrie connection was good for four dunks, including three alley-oops, as No. 20 Mississippi State easily beat rival Mississippi 70-60 on Thursday night.

Moultrie scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Bost had a career-high 13 assists as the Bulldogs won for the fourth time in five games. Moultrie made 9 of 14 shots from the field in another efficient performance that's typified his breakout season.

"I don't know how I was so open," Moultrie said. "I was surprising myself sometimes."

Bost had eight assists in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 40-27 lead and the 6-2 senior's 13 assists were the most by an SEC player this season. His most spectacular pass came near the end of the first half, where he let loose a perfectly timed heave from midcourt that found Moultrie streaking toward the rim.

Mississippi State (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) scored the first eight points and never trailed. Renardo Sidney added 14 points and Rodney Hood scored 10 for the Bulldogs.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy joked that he "didn't want to seem like Bost's agent," but called him the best point guard in the SEC. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury agreed that Bost had a nearly flawless floor game.

"He got us in transition, scored in transition when we needed him to and was patient when we needed him to be," Stansbury said.

The result was a Mississippi State win that was never particularly close, and the Bulldogs continue to look like a team that's talented enough to go deep into the NCAA tournament.

"This time of year, you've got to get at that level," Stansbury said. "It's tough to play at that level for 30 games, but at this time of year, you're talking about seven games."

Reginald Buckner had 15 points and nine rebounds for Ole Miss (14-9, 4-5), which has lost three of four. Jarvis Summers scored 12 points and Jelan Kendrick added 11 for the Rebels.