Gamer: Ole Miss Defeats Sam Houston, 70-67, in Tad Pad Throwback Game
OXFORD, Miss. – The first throwback game of the Chris Beard era in Oxford saw the Ole Miss Rebels return to the Tad Pad to secure a come-from-behind victory over the Sam Houston State Bearkats, 70-67.
4-0.#HottyToddy | #BuildTheCulture pic.twitter.com/niSDSEVZk7
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
“Tonight for us was more than the basketball game. It was honoring one of the all time greats, Coach (Rob) Barnes, and his wife and everything they did in Oxford during their time here. It was so cool to have so many of his former players back in town yesterday and tonight. Wish we would’ve played better for Coach, but I’ll say this, there’s a lot of emotion attached to this game and that’s good because we’re gonna have to play in a lot of emotional games as we build the program to get to the point where we want it.”
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard’s opening statement
1st Half
For the first time in seven years, the Ole Miss Rebels scored a basket in the Tad Smith Coliseum. Senior Matthew Murrell drained a three to get things going, later throwing down a hard jam to get the crowd going and give himself 5 quick points.
Welcome to the Tad Pad @matt_murre11 🤯 pic.twitter.com/hxQldRh3aY
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
Just 8 minutes into the first half, the Rebels really struggled to get shots to fall and neither team could seem to hold onto the ball. After starting 1-for-6 from deep, Allen Flanigan hit a fadeaway 3-pointer to get the Rebel fans back into it as Ole Miss led Sam Houston State 16-11.
Drilled it @Allen_Flanigan2 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/4Ije72Py6W
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
A little under the midway mark, both teams still had problems getting shots to fall. Flanigan led the way for the Rebels with 8 points, while Jamarion Sharp began to ‘wow’ the crowd with his shot blocking.
Late in the half, the Bearkats began to go on a run which put them down by four, 26-22. Yet again, Ole Miss was losing the rebounding battle and continuing to struggle from behind the arc as they were 2-for-9 from three to start this one.
With a minute to go, Sam Houston State took its first lead of the game, eventually taking a 33-31 advantage into halftime. The story for the Rebels going to the half was their 20% shooting clip from three along with 8 turnovers.
Beard commented postgame on the rough shooting night from deep.
“Certainly last game out, we kind of fell in love with the three point shot. I still think we’re gonna be a good shooting team, we’ll see if my prediction’s correct, but I thought while hitting shots last game we weren’t aggressive enough to get the free throw line. And ultimately to go win a big boy game in March, you gotta have everything. You gotta have four or five guys in double figures, we only got two tonight. We’re looking for that third, fourth, fifth scorer.”
Coach Chris Beard
Flanigan led the scoring in the first half with 9 for Ole Miss while Sharp was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with 8 points, 3 boards and a pair of blocks.
Al Lookin’ (like) Sharp@Allen_Flanigan2 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/h0fD62nnIz
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
2nd Half
As the second half of play began, the Rebels briefly took their lead back, however, the Bearkats kept fighting back as both teams traded baskets to tie things back up.
After scoring 5 quick points to begin the game, Murrell had gone silent for the remainder of the first half. But the senior guard hit a mid range jumper with nearly every Sam Houston defender putting a hand in his face, getting the shot to fall for the and-1. Murrell then came back down the floor to hit another jumpshot which gave Ole Miss the lead back and raised his scoring total to 13.
And One@matt_murre11 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/HVlo4GARfP
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
Midway through the second half, the Bearkats once again took the lead over the Rebels, 51-49. Ole Miss continued to struggle from the field, not getting a 3-point shot to fall in the half at this point as they were 2-14 on the night. Turnovers continued to throw ‘salt in the wounds’ for the Rebels as well as they were up to 11 and could not seem to hold onto the basketball.
Beard spoke postgame on how drawing fouls made up for missed threes.
“We spent a lot of time just talking about how we gotta win this game on defense and I thought we could score enough points somehow, some way, even on a night where the three wasn’t going down again. But we combatted that tonight by getting to the free throw line.”
Coach Beard on getting to the free throw line
With 6 minutes to go, a thunderous block by Murrell on one end and a slam by Flanigan on the other tied things back up at 54, waking up the Ole Miss crowd. However, the Bearkats continued to fire back, quickly taking back their lead and silencing the building.
Turning Defense Into Offense 💪@matt_murre11 x @Allen_Flanigan2 pic.twitter.com/VIVd0jBaju
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
As crunch time began to approach, Ole Miss scored 9 straight points at the charity stripe, with Flanigan burying 6 of those. Tied at 63, senior Jaemyn Brakefield went to work on his defender as he was fouled on his way to getting a hard-driving bucket to fall.
BIG SHOT BRAKE@Jaemyn1 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/6hZ3BB91VN
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
Finding themselves trailing the Bearkats by one once again, Murrell found a wide open JuJu Murray for three, giving the Rebels a 69-67 lead with a minute to play. Ole Miss forced a missed shot on the opposite end, eventually leading to Flanigan drawing his 11th foul of the night and icing the game.
Ice Cold ❄️@JSMurray10 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/4bMmO9rbDJ
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 18, 2023
I asked Al Flanigan after the game if his 11 drawn fouls were a part of the Rebels’ second-half gameplan.
“I shot a fade away in the first half, airball. Coach looked at me and he said, ‘Don’t shoot another fade away.’ We were in the bonus, so go to the goal and he told me to make guys foul me. So that’s what I did.”
Flanigan on drawing 11 fouls
It was Flanigan who led the way for the Rebels tonight. The Auburn transfer finished with 23 points and 7 boards, shooting 14-for-18 from the free line. Murrell also found life in the second half, scoring 5 of his 15 points in the half.
Takeaways
- The Rebels finally out-rebounded their opponent, 35-31
- Al Flanigan continues to show his potential
- Another night of 3-point struggles — 3 for 18
- ‘Sloppy’ first half handling the ball — 8 of 13 turnovers in the first half
- Showed relentlessness on getting to the free throw line — 27 for 34 on the night
- Secured a WIN in the first game back in the Tad Pad
Up Next
Next Tuesday, November 22nd, the Rebels will hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Temple Owls in Philadelphia. Tipoff is set for 2:30 pm CT on ESPN+.
(Feature image credit: Josh McCoy, Ole Miss)
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
