It was far from pretty, but Ole Miss continued its best start in 15 seasons on Tuesday with a 77-68 win over visiting Mount St. Mary’s in Oxford, Miss.
Despite scoring nine straight points in the game’s first five minutes, the 8-0 Rebels could never truly pull away from the Mountaineers in the first 20 minutes, leading by only five at halftime.
The Rebels picked up their play in the second half, starting with a 12-4 run. Mount St. Mary’s answered with a 9-2 run to get within 53-47 with 10 1/2 minutes to play, but the Rebels’ 8-0 run after that provided enough margin for Ole Miss to hold off a couple of late pushes by the Mountaineers (2-6).
Junior Jaylen Murray and senior Matthew Murrell each hit the 20-point mark for the second consecutive game for Ole Miss. Murray scored a career-high 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting (including 7-for-8 from the free-throw line). Murrell dropped 24 after hitting 7 of 11 field goals and 7 of 9 free throws.
Senior Jaemyn Brakefield also had a career night on the boards, grabbing a personal-best 13 rebounds.
Ole Miss turned the ball over 13 times while the Mountaineers committed 12. The Rebels shot 48.1 percent from the floor; Mount St. Mary’s shot 41.4 percent.
Ole Miss continues to have its best start in 15 years; the Rebels have not won their first eight games since they began the 2007-08 campaign at 13-0.
The Rebels are now 7-0 at home.
Freshman De’Shayne Montgomery came off the bench to lead the Mountaineers with 22 points, shooting 9-for-15, while senior Dakota Leffew added 16 points.
After the hot start, the Mountaineers went cold from distance, finishing with five baskets on 25 3-point attempts.
Mount St. Mary’s is off to its worst start since the 2018-19 season, when it started 0-9.
–Field Level Media