Ole Miss men’s basketball falls to A&M on Senior Day at SJB Pavilion, 86-60
OXFORD, Miss. – Senior day in the SJB Pavilion was spoiled by an aggressive A&M defense and three-point onslaught as the Ole Miss men’s basketball team dropped its final regular season game of the year to the Texas A&M Aggies, 86-60.
The Ole Miss seniors were recognized before the game, with today being the Rebels’ final regular season game of the season.
SENIOR DAY ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/6voNrxP38C
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 9, 2024
First Half
Coming off a rough month of basketball, Ole Miss started flat against the Aggies in the first half. Texas A&M went on a 14-0 run after the opening tip as the Rebels struggled, going 0 of 5 from the field in the first four minutes.
Rebel guard Matthew Murrell tried to get things going, scoring the first five points for Ole Miss. However, the Aggies kept up their aggressive play, extending their lead to as high as 18 points before the ten-minute mark in the first half.
Jaylen ‘JuJu’ Murray and Jaemyn Brakefield began to get involved for the Rebels, taking some of the scoring load off the back of Murrell. Almost midway through the quarter, the scoring helped Ole Miss go on a 15 to 6 run over the next six minutes which led to a JuJu Murray triple to cut the deficit to 28-20.
Despite fighting their way back into this one, the Rebels struggled from the field which allowed the Aggies to take back the double-digit lead, 42-29, before heading into the halftime locker room.
The Rebels shot just 10 for 26 from the field in the first half.
“I thought we had two good days of practice. We had a March, start of the game type of plan that was more simplified and focused on what we need to get done. It was obviously our second game against Texas A&M, so we took some things from the first one. I thought we were prepared, I thought we came to play with Ole Miss heart today, but we didn’t.“
~ Beard on his team’s issues today
Brakefield led the way for the Rebels at the half with 10 points. Murrell and Murray added another 14 combined points; the trio produced most of the offense for the Rebels to that point.
Second Half
Texas A&M started the final half of play the same way they began the first one; fast and efficient. The triple continued to be the ‘backbreaker’ of the Rebel defense, as the Aggies buried their tenth three of the game not even five minutes into the second half, giving A&M a 57-37 lead.
Despite the Aggie offense heating up, Ole Miss did not give up. JuJu Murray scored a quick seven points to begin the half which put him in double digits, and Murrell also reached double digits early in the half as well.
The Aggies did not give in defensively either, making it just as tough on the Rebel offense in the second half. Ole Miss could not find any consistency from beyond the arc, missing 13 of its first 21 attempts. The Rebels were also losing the rebound battle by 20 boards, 34 to 11, with just over ten minutes left to play.
Texas A&M dominated the boards which proved to be the key to their second-half domination, winning the rebound battle by nearly 30 boards.
The Rebels eventually found themselves down 30 at one point before the final buzzer of this one. Chris Beard began to allow some of his seniors like Cole McGrath and Cam Brent get minutes for the final game in the Pavilion.
“The plan here for year two is to have a full roster of guys like Muggs (Cam Brent). Guys that care, have heart and want to play for Ole Miss. Guys that play for the name on the front of their jersey, not the one on the back.“
~ Beard on the plan for the future
JuJu Murray led the way for the Rebels with 21 points. Murrell added another 11 points, and Brakefield finished with 10.
Up Next
The Men’s SEC basketball tournament is scheduled to start this coming Wednesday, March 13th, and the Rebels will play on the second day of the tournament. Ole Miss is currently sitting at the No. 9 seed after the conclusion of the regular season today with their would-be opponent, the 8 seed, still to be determined.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate 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.
