Strong Second Half Lifts Ole Miss Over Temple, 63-55
OXFORD, Miss. — It was more gritty then pretty, but a win is a win no matter its form. Ole Miss improved to 8-3 on the season after defeating Temple, 63-55, Saturday at the SJB Pavilion.
The win gives Ole Miss an opportunity to gain a little momentum with just one more game remaining before SEC play.
Ole Miss got off to a slow start, playing from behind in the first half. Head coach Kermit Davis had to go to his bench early after Amaree Abram and Myles Burns picked up two early fouls. After an initial scoring drought, TJ Caldwell and Matthew Murrell provided a bit of a scoring spark to get the offense going.
Near the end of the half, both Murrell and Daeshun Ruffin made a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to one. A late-in-the-clock layup by Kur Jongkuch would give the Owls a 27-24 lead heading into halftime.
Second-half rally
More than a trend, this Ole Miss team really thrives in the second half. Today was no different as the Rebels found their rhythm and limited Temple in the second half.
Behind a pair of TJ Caldwell free throws, Ole Miss took its first lead since the opening basket of the game. Temple would respond, but then the duo of Matthew Murrell and Daeshun Ruffin began to see the hoop open up as Ole Miss took a lead that it would hold for the rest of the game.
En route to becoming the game’s leading scorers, Ruffin and Murrell combined for 28 of Ole Miss’ 39 points in the second half.
Temple shot 24.1% from the field as the Owls notched 28 second-half points.
It was a battle for both teams, but down the stretch the Ole Miss defense swarmed as Temple only had three made field goals under the ten minute mark. The Owls finished the game making just two of their final ten field goal attempts
By the numbers
Murrell led the way for Ole Miss and was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. He would also grab seven rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Daeshun Ruffin added 17 points (5-10 FG) while adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds as he continues to get back into game shape.
Other notable impacts include TJ Caldwell adding nine points off the bench and Myles Burns grabbing 12 rebounds despite being in foul trouble.
As a whole, Ole Miss shot 38% (21-55) from the field and 18% (4-22) from the perimeter. The rebounding battle favored Ole Miss, 46-33. Points in the paint has been a key for Davis’ teams this season and today they added 33.
Temple (6-6) was led by the duo of Damian Dunn (16) and Khalif Battle (15) who combined for 31. Head coach Aaron McKie’s team shot at a 30% clip while shooting 21% from three.
Two Takeaways from the win
No. 1: Veterans Take the Stage in the Tale of Two Halves
Daeshun Ruffin, Matthew Murrell, Jayveous McKinnis, Myles Burns, Theo Akwuba, Josh Mballa, and Jaemyn Brakefield.
That is the list of players who tallied more than 10 minutes in the second half. As the game wound down, Coach Davis showed how he values experience in the defensive stand.
Murrell and Ruffin largely impacted the offense in the second half. The two single-handedly matched Temple in points in the second half. The pair connected for two alley-oop dunks that largely helped build on the energy shift in the arena.
More impressively, though, was how well Murrell and Ruffin handled the ball. Ole Miss committed nine turnovers in the first half that led to 16 points off of turnovers for Temple. That leaves the Owls with only 11 points in the half court.
In the second half, Ole Miss only committed two turnovers and Ruffin added four assists. The Rebels took care off the ball in part of the 39-point second half.
No. 2: One Minute of McKinnis
Despite the offensive struggles in getting field goals, Temple found a way to get to the line and keep things close.
As the game came to a close, in the final few minutes we saw the Ole Miss lead get to as low as three. It was then that Jayveous McKinnis went full winner mode and provided one of the best 30 seconds to a minute stretches of hustle and energy I have seen this year.
In that span, McKinnis drew a foul, added a free throw (made 1/2) to extend the lead out to four, blocked the shot (forcefully into Jaemyn Brakefield’s face — yikes!), and then dove on the floor for the loose ball.
To some it may have gone unnoticed, but credit McKinnis where it’s due. That’s the kind of role and energy that coaches love. McKinnis gave it all out there and credit to him down the stretch.
No. 3: Paint Protection
One thing that has seemingly becoming more noticeable in recent performances is Ole Miss’ ability to anchor down on the interior. Temple only had 18 points in the paint the entire contest. In the second half, the duo of Jayveous McKinnis and Theo Akwuba displayed great rim protection. It was a block party as each of the two had three blocks in ten minutes of play, apiece.
Time will tell, but if Ole Miss can continue to enforce the paint while adding some rim protection that could be a big factor for a team that loves to turn defense into offense.
Next Up
After today’s win, Ole Miss will take the court next against North Alabama on Tuesday to wrap up non-conference play. Tipoff is set for 2:00 PM CT and the game is available to stream on SEC Network plus.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.
