Men’s basketball falls to UCF, 72-61
OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men’s basketball team dropped its third game of the season Wednesday night to UCF at the SJB Pavilion. The 72-61 defeat was the first home loss for the Rebels this season.
The Rebels fell into a 21-0 hole early in the game, and they were never able to climb out of it, trailing the entirety of the contest.
“Central Florida came out with a lot of pop and a lot of juice,” Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said postgame. “Our team didn’t have a physical approach to [the game] on either end.”
Davis said that many things went into the disastrous start for his team, which was eerily similar to its loss at Memphis earlier in the season.
“Inability to play downhill offensively. Ball movement wasn’t very good. [We] missed a couple of shots around the goal. We couldn’t keep [UCF] out of the paint. It was just too big of a hole. I take full responsibility for it. We have to get off to better starts.”
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis on his team’s slow start
The Rebels’ largest deficit in the game was 22. They were able to cut the UCF lead to four points midway through the second half, but four was as close as they got.
Davis said that a new lineup was able to cut the deficit to four, and he was pleased with forwards Malique Ewin and Josh Mballa.
“It was good to see Malique Ewin play well,” Davis said. “Josh Mballa has been playing better at practice. He was our most physical player tonight.”
Ewin scored 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting day. He also tallied five rebounds and five blocks. Mballa scored 18 points for the Rebels, while also recording seven rebounds.
The leading scorer for the Rebels on the night was guard Matthew Murrell with 21 points. He scored the first 10 points of the game for the Rebels and shot 4-8 from beyond the arc.
The Rebels (7-3) will look to bounce back this Saturday at home against the Temple Owls. Tipoff at the SJB Pavilion is set for 4 p.m. on SEC Network.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Trevor Terminie
Trevor is a senior at Ole Miss pursuing a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Sports Communication and Promotion. He has previous experience covering sports for another site, including a variety of Ole Miss sports. Growing up in New Orleans, La., he has the Pelicans and Saints running through his blood. He also grew up in an LSU family, but his love for Ole Miss continues to grow. Trevor hopes to cover sports back in his hometown after college. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
