OXFORD — When Ole Miss basketball and Mississippi State meet, margins matter.

In an 86-82 victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night, Chris Beard's Rebels dominated the marginal gains category.

The 18 points and pristine shooting performance Ole Miss got from guard TJ Caldwell, who typically plays less than 50% of the available minutes, top that list. Then came the defensive contributions of freshman reserve Rashaud Marshall, who was thrust into action due to foul trouble to Moussa Cisse and finished plus-seven for the night.

There were the half-priced beers for students that helped Ole Miss pack 10,630 fans into the SJB Pavilion and achieve the largest-ever basketball attendance for a Rebels home game.

The list goes on ‒ and all of the items on it mattered as Ole Miss (18-3, 5-3 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs (14-7, 3-5).

The periods that decided the game in Ole Miss' favor came before and after halftime.

The Rebels closed the first half on an 11-5 run, culminated by Jaylen Murray's 3-pointer at the buzzer, to erase what had been a seven-point Bulldogs lead and restore parity at the break.

To open the second half, Ole Miss scored 12 of the first 15 points to build a cushion that the Bulldogs never erased, despite a charge that narrowed the deficit to one point with five minutes to go and two points late. Ole Miss needed one final stop with 12 seconds to play.

When Matthew Murrell fouled Mississippi State's Cameron Matthews with four seconds left, he went to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. Instead, he missed both – leaving vital points in the margins.

Guards Jaylen Murray and Josh Hubbard go back and forth

Freshman Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard drew the ire of a raucous Ole Miss student crowd throughout the contest.

The former Ole Miss signee asked for his release when the Rebels fired coach Kermit Davis last year, and ultimately ended up landing in Starkville.

He looked like he might make the difference for the Bulldogs early, entering halftime with 16 points.

But the Rebels cooled him off in the second half, where he managed just five points. Ole Miss got a strong contribution from its diminutive guard, too. Murray scored 21 points to help provide the scoring punch. Murrell added 20 of his own.

Turnovers hurt Mississippi State in first half

During the early going, Ole Miss’ best offense came from its defense. The Rebels forced nine turnovers in the opening period, resulting in 12 points while turning it over just four times leading to no points for MSU.

Despite difficulty holding onto the ball, Mississippi State shot 50% from the floor en route to matching Ole Miss’ 39 first-half points. The Bulldogs also connected on eight of their nine free throw attempts, which was a promising start after entering the contest shooting 58.3% from the line in SEC play.

A bit more early ball security could have made the difference for Chris Jans' team.

FULL UPDATES: Mississippi State basketball live score updates vs. Ole Miss: Chris Jans faces Chris Beard

Up next

Ole Miss will finish out a weeklong homestand with a game against Auburn at the SJB Pavilion on Saturday (5 p.m., SEC Network). Mississippi State will head to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama on Saturday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network).

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball beats Mississippi State, snaps three-game rivalry skid