Huge second half gives Ole Miss eighth victory of the season

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss men’s basketball team used a huge 53-point second half to blow by the Chattanooga Mocs, 90-70, in the Rebels’ return home to The Pavilion Sunday evening. 

(Click here for box score.)

The most impressive feat of the game had to be the Rebels’ 28-0 run early in the second half of play. 

Though Ole Miss (8-2) was down, 39-37, at intermission, head coach Kermit Davis’ team shot an astounding 63% from the field in the final frame, pacing the Rebels to the win. 

“It was my first time as the coach at Ole Miss to get down in the second half at home and watch the fans and players respond, so to me that was a cool thing and I enjoyed it,” Davis said after the game.

Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis 

Junior guard Breein Tyree sparked the game-changing swing for the Rebels as he who scored 15 of the Rebels’ 28 in the run that lasted over 6 minutes in the early part of the second period.

Breein Tyree (4) scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half of the Rebels’ win over Chattanooga. (Photo: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics)

Tyree scored 20 points on the night—18 of which came in the final half. 

“Breein Tyree got going…he’s a real confident offensive player, but really it was just points off turnovers,” Coach Davis said. 

“We got our hands on a bunch of loose balls, blocked shots…and we really started executing. We came out of a timeout, our guys really executed a back door play to Devontae Shuler. There are a lot of things that have to go right, but the biggest thing during a 28-0 run is the defensive end and that’s what happened,” Davis explained.

While Tyree’s explosion got the Rebel offense back on track, another 20-point performance from senior Terence Davis on 9 for 11 shooting definitely helped the cause.

Bruce Stevens made his presence felt as he knocked down a solid 15-points in 15 minutes on the court. 

In fact, 11 of the 12 Rebels who took the court contributed to the 90-point total. The unselfish play from every Ole Miss player has allowed for the offense to take control and secure victories late in games. 

Game Notes

• Ole Miss won its fifth straight game, the longest winning streak since winning seven in-a-row to close out the 2015 calendar year.
• Trailing 45-39 with 16:52 to go in the game, the Rebels went on a 28-0 run over 6:38 to take a 22-point lead.
• The Rebels shot 61.5 percent (32 of 52) from the field, setting a new record for field goal percentage in The Pavilion; it was the second time Ole Miss shot over 60 percent this season (San Diego, Nov. 28).
• Breein Tyree scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, reaching the 20-point mark for the fifth time in the last seven games.
• Terence Davis added 20 points, the 17th 20-point game of his career.
• Terence Davis and Breein Tyree scored at least 20 points in the same game for the third time this season.
• Ole Miss forced 22 turnovers and held a 15-0 advantage in fastbreak points.

Next Up

The Rebels will look to continue their five-game winning streak as they head to Nashville to play head coach Kermit Davis’ former team, Middle Tennessee State. 

The Blue Raiders and Rebels will tip off at 7 p.m. (CT) on the CBS Sports Network.