Second-Half Run Propels Ole Miss Men’s Basketball to Win over Grambling State

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) A 20-0 run over 6:00 helped the Ole Miss men’s basketball team claim its second victory of the season over Grambling State Friday night at the SJB Pavilion. Dre Davis led the Rebels with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and Jaemyn Brakefield recorded the third double-double of his career with 11 points and 11 boards.

Grambling (1-1) took a 33-25 lead into halftime thanks to 57.1 percent shooting in the first half (12-for-21). The Tigers shot 50.0 percent from three (5-for-10) and were led by Kintavious Dozier who scored 11 points over the first 20 minutes of action.

Grambling would stretch the lead to 12 at the 17:25 mark before the Rebels (2-0) began to chip away.

Ole Miss found their stride going on a 13-0 run over 3:29 to erase the 12-point deficit and take a 40-39 lead with 13:38 to play. Davis would score eight of his 13 points on the run capped off by a Sean Pedulla layup plus the foul.

The Rebels would stretch their lead to 11 at the 6:39 mark after a pair of threes from Brakefield and Malik Dia. Matthew Murrell added a pair of buckets and Pedulla scored five points on the run.

Grambling would fight back, erasing the 10-point deficit to just one with 3:39 to play.

Davon Barnes came up huge with a second-chance putback to push the lead to three with 2:26 left in regulation. Brakefield followed with a jumper to push the lead to five.

The two sides traded buckets until the lead remained one once again for Ole Miss with three seconds on the clock. Jaylen Murray stepped to the line for the Rebels where he’s been perfect all season and made both free throws to push the lead to three.

The last time Ole Miss overcame a five-plus-point halftime deficit to win was Dec. 2 of last year, when the Rebels trailed Memphis by seven at the break.

Ole Miss returns to action next Tuesday for a matchup against South Alabama. It will be the annual “Throwback in the Tad Pad” game where the program will honor former head coach Bob Weltlich and his teams, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Notables 

• Matthew Murrell’s seven steals in the game are tied for fourth-most in a single game in school history. 
• Dre Davis led the Rebels with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He added four rebounds and connected on a pair of triples in the win. 
• Jaemyn Brakefield recorded his third career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. 
• Four Rebels scored in double-figures: Davis (13), Sean Pedulla (12), Brakefield (11) and Jaylen Murray (10). 
• Ole Miss forced 22 turnovers, the most in a game since Dec. 19, 2023, when the Rebels forced 25 TO’s against Troy.