No. 20 Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Tops Lindenwood Saturday Night in Oxford

OXFORD, Miss. — A second-half takeover for Ole Miss men’s basketball helped seal the Rebels’ eighth win of the season as they beat Lindenwood, 86-53, Saturday night in the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.

Led by Sean Pedulla with 19 points, four Ole Miss players finished the game in double-digits scoring.

It was a tale of two halves for the Rebels (8-1) as they limited Lindenwood (3-6) to only 20 total points in the second half, forcing eight turnovers on the night.

Shooting 51.7% from the field, Ole Miss was propelled by a great performance from Mikeal Brown-Jones, who finished the game with 14 points and two rebounds.

Pedulla tallied 12 first-half points, starting the game 3-for-3 from behind the arc.

Ole Miss held Lindenwood to just 38.5% shooting (10-26) in the first half. The Lindenwood team has now faced its third SEC team, losing 81-61 at Missouri last week and falling 93-60 at Oklahoma on November 4th.

Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run with 12:23 left in the second half, and they didn’t look back. A balanced attack on both ends of the court would extend the lead for Ole Miss to 20 points with just under ten minutes to play.

Ja’Von Benson gave a quality effort, putting up seven points and four rebounds for head coach Chris Beard’s team in just four minutes of playing time. The Rebels would jump from 47.1% shooting in the first half to 57.7% in the second.

Only getting to the charity stripe two times in the first half, Ole Miss would make its way to the free throw line 20 times in the second half, going 15-for-20 (75%) in the process.

Star senior Matthew Murrell did not play against Lindenwood after suffering a lower-body injury.

Next Up:

Ole Miss will have the midweek off before taking on Southern Miss (4-4) Saturday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT in Biloxi and on SEC Network+ as the Rebels continue their tour around the Magnolia State.

NOTABLES

• Ole Miss shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) in the win over Lindenwood. The Rebels have now shot 50.0 percent or better in four of their nine games this season.
• The Rebel defense held Lindenwood to just 35.3 percent (18-for-51) from the floor and just 20 second half points, their fewest allowed in a game this season. The 53 points allowed in the win is the fewest since a 77-51, victory on Jan. 24, 2024, against Arkansas.
• Four Rebels scored in double-figures: Sean Pedulla (19), Mikeal Brown-Jones (14), Dre Davis (14) and Davon Barnes (11). It marks Pedulla’s third game this season leading the team in scoring.
• Jaylen Murray now has six games this season with five or more assists. He has led the team in passing in six games this season.
• Ole Miss dominated in the paint for their second straight game outscoring Lindenwood 38-18 in the trenches.