Matthew Murrell scored a game-high 18 points and added 10 steals to help lead No. 25 Ole Miss to a 74-53 victory over visiting Troy on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss.
Jaemyn Brakefield added 17 points for the Rebels (11-0), who extended their best start to a season since 2007, when they won their first 13 games. Jaylen Murray also scored 16 for Ole Miss, while Allen Flanigan added 13.
Tayton Conerway led Troy (5-6) with 13 points on 3-for-3 shooting on 3-pointers. Aamer Muhammad added 11 points for the Trojans, who shot just 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) from the field compared to the Rebels’ 27-for-59 shooting (45.8 percent).
After leading by nine at halftime, Ole Miss used an 8-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game to that point, 44-29, with 15:44 left. Minutes later, Flanigan’s steal turned into Murrell’s layup to push the Rebels’ advantage to 54-33.
Murray made a triple with 2:58 left to cap an 8-0 Ole Miss scoring run to punctuate the victory. The 3-pointer was Murray’s fourth of the game and the Rebels’ 10th.
The story of the first half was the Ole Miss defense, which held Troy to 28.6 percent from the field. The Rebels blocked eight shots in the first half, six by Jamarion Sharp.
Ole Miss led 31-22 at the break, led in scoring by Murrell and Murray, who scored eight points apiece. Conerway paced the Trojans with 10 off the bench in the first half.
Ole Miss 7-footer Moussa Cisse exited the game with a leg injury at the 14:53 mark of the first half and didn’t return.
The Ole Miss victory was its 11th in as many games against Troy all-time. Tuesday was also the first game Ole Miss played as a ranked team since January 26, 2019. The 2018-2019 season was the last NCAA Tournament berth for the Rebels.
–Field Level Media