By GREG MENGELT

OXFORD, Miss. — In a defensive struggle, Mississippi pulled away from Josh Jefferson and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 62-52 Wednesday at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.

In the loss, Jefferson had 8 points — the most by any Middle Tennessee (8-3) starter — to go along with 4 points, 3 assists and a steal. The former New Albany star and Green Bay transfer was 3 for 4 inside the 3-point arc but missed all 6 of his 3-point attempts in the loss.

The Middle Tennessee bench outscored its starters 28-26. Freshman guard Teafale Lenard led the Raiders with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Sophomore guard Camryn Weston added 9 points for Middle Tennessee, which shot just 34.9 percent (22 of 63) from the field and made just 3 of its 27 3-pointers (11.1 percent) in the loss.

Even with the poor shooting, the Blue Raiders led 16-15 with 6:21 left in the first half and trailed just 27-24 at halftime. Middle Tennessee never led in the second half but a Lenard dunk with 7:42 left got the Raiders within 50-46.

Ole Miss (7-3) was led by a pair of 12-points scorers — senior center Nysier Brooks and freshman guard Daeshun Ruffin. The Rebels shot just 36.7 percent (22 of 60) and were just 5 of 21 from deep (23.8 percent). They forced 17 Middle Tennessee turnovers. The Raiders held Mississippi stars Jarkel Joiner and Jaemyn Brakefield to just 19 points combined.

Jefferson and the Blue Raiders look to return home — and to their winning ways — Sunday when they host Coastal Carolina (6-3) at 3 p.m. at the Murphy Center. The Chanticleers have won four of their last five, including a 34-point win over South Carolina on Dec. 1.