Jaylen Murray scored 22 points, Allen Flanigan made two decisive free throws with 25 seconds remaining and Ole Miss held off Detroit Mercy 70-69 on Tuesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Matthew Murrell added 17 points for the Rebels (3-0).
Jayden Stone scored 22, Marcus Tankersley had 19 and Edoardo Del Cadia added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Titans (0-3).
The Titans scored the first four points of the second half to take a one-point lead and start a succession of lead changes.
The score was tied five times and the lead changed hands six times before consecutive baskets by Flanigan and Murray gave the Rebels a 53-49 lead midway through the second half.
Murrell’s jumper pushed the lead to five before Detroit Mercy closed within two points on three occasions.
Murray’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to five before Del Cadia made consecutive layups and Stone made another to give the Titans a 65-64 lead.
Murrell answered with a 3-pointer, but Trenton Johnson answered with another, giving Detroit Mercy another one-point lead.
Murray made one of two free throws to tie the score before Stone made one of two to give the Titans a one-point lead with 33 seconds left.
Flanigan made two free throws and Tankersley missed a jumper at the buzzer.
Murray and Jaemyn Brakefield made back-to-back 3-pointers and Murrell added two jumpers as the Rebels raced to a 10-0 lead.
Tankersley had back-to-back baskets during a 6-0 run.
TJ Caldwell made a 3-pointer and Rashaud Marshall added a basket to expand the lead to 15-6.
Tankersley made two more baskets to help get Detroit Mercy within one point and he later scored five straight points to give the Titans a 21-20 lead.
The lead changed hands three times before Murray’s 3-pointer gave Ole Miss a six-point edge.
Tankersley’s jumper pulled Detroit Mercy within 30-28. The Rebels rebuilt the lead to six before Johnson’s 3-pointer trimmed it to 34-31 at halftime.
–Field Level Media