Ole Miss Falls to Georgia, 61-71
The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team traveled to take on Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum Saturday evening, and the Rebels would end up losing their second straight game, falling 61-71 to the Bulldogs after losing earlier in the week to Arkansas.
Ole Miss falls to 8-8 (3-6 SEC) while Georgia improves to 10-6 (3-6 SEC) and completes the season sweep of the Rebels.
(Click here for the box score)
In the first half, the Rebels managed to control the paint and consistently get second-chance opportunities. Ole Miss also showed early aggression, getting to the line eight times (7/8) in the first half compared to Georgia’s three attempts (1/3).
The Rebs ended up trailing by just three at halftime despite shooting 16.67% (1/6) from three. They also managed to score 34 points, but just did not have an answer for Georgia’s three-point shot as the Bulldogs shot 66.67% (6/9) in the first half.
In the second half, Ole Miss continued its aggressive play but just did not get the results the Rebels were looking for.
Ole Miss did get to the line 11 more times; however, they couldn’t seize the opportunity, missing five of those 11 shots. They almost shot identical to what they did in the first half from three-point range, shooting 14.29% (1/7) in the second half.
Despite these shooting woes, the Rebels were still able to make it competitive even when trailing most of the game. Ole Miss was able to stay within reach of the game due to its rebounding. Georgia got 10 fewer rebounds throughout the game and gave up 23 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 points on second chance opportunities for the Rebels.
Jarkel Joiner led Ole Miss with 14 points, while Devontae Shuler finished with 11. Yet both struggled to consistently find their shot, as they both went 4/14 from the field. Surprisingly, neither player made a three-point shot on the night.
“We have a good group of young guys, (we’ll) just try and prepare and watch the final 13 minutes of the game tomorrow. They beat us to the punch and just one of those things, keep fighting and get ready for Tennessee.”
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis on the loss
Forward Robert Allen earned his first start of the season, starting over K.J. Buffen, a move that snapped Buffen’s 47-game streak. Allen finished with 10 points along with 6 rebounds on 5/7 shooting from the field.
After the game, Coach Davis commented on the change in personnel.
“K.J. (Buffen) is going through some personal things and we’ll keep working through that. We chose not to put him in late and went with Allen. He’s receptive to coaching and has a bright future.“
Coach Davis
UP NEXT
Ole Miss ends its two-game road trip and will be back at The Pavilion on Tuesday, hosting No.11 Tennessee at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
(Feature image credit: Ole Miss Men’s Basketball)
