Rebels fall to Tigers, 61-75
OXFORD, Miss. – In a battle between the SEC’s top offense and the SEC’s best defense in terms of field goal percentage, the fast start for the LSU offense was too much to overcome. The Tigers (8-2, 3-1) raced out to an early lead and never looked back, handing the Ole Miss men’s basketball team a 75-61 setback Saturday night at The Pavilion.
The Tigers feasted off 20 Ole Miss turnovers and scored 29 points off of them alone. Although the Rebels (6-4, 1-2 SEC) caused 16 turnovers, the 10th time in 10 games forcing at least 15 turnovers, they didn’t have as much success, scoring 14 points off the miscues.
Ole Miss shot 35 percent from the floor with Austin Crowley scoring a team-high 10 points off the bench. Luis Rodriguez and Jarkel Joiner each added nine points, while Matthew Murrell tallied eight. An astounding 35 points came solely from the Ole Miss bench. On the flip side, three of LSU’s starting five did most of the damage with a combined 53 points. Trendon Watford scored a game-high 21 points. Javonte Smart had 17, and Darius Days added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
LSU created separation right off the bat with a pair of threes from Watford along with a few transition baskets, culminating with an 8-0 run and 11-2 lead just under three minutes into the game. LSU shot 73 percent from the floor during the first six minutes and change, building a double digit cushion. The Rebels created more turnovers to try and get back into the game; however, they could not turn them into points. LSU shot 50 percent (15 of 30), including going 46 percent beyond the arc with six threes to take a commanding lead into the locker room.
Coming out of halftime, Rodriguez drained a three on Ole Miss’ first offensive possession, but the Tigers responded and would not let up the rest of the way. Despite an 13-3 Ole Miss run with under three minutes left to play, it was far too late for the Rebels.
With the three-game homestand coming to an end, the Rebels head to the Sunshine State to face Ole Miss alum Mike White and the Florida Gators. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
(Courtesy of Ole Miss Media Relations)
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
