Gritty Second Half Gives Ole Miss Men’s Basketball First Conference Victory Over Georgia

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) A tough second half propelled the No. 23 Ole Miss men’s basketball team (12-2, 1-0 SEC) to their first conference victory of the season, a 63-51 win over the Georgia Bulldogs (12-2, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday in the SJB Pavilion.

1-0.#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/S0hvxzEDio

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 4, 2025

A physical battle ensued the first 20 minutes of action as Georgia took a 28-26 lead into the halftime break. Both sides played a tough brand of defense as each team shot under 35 percent from the floor.

Sean Pedulla led the Rebels with seven first-half points and Malik Dia grabbed four rebounds. Asa Newell led Georgia with seven points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action.

Neither side led by more than six points as the Rebels held the Bulldogs to just 11.1 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.

Ole Miss came out strong to start the second frame, shooting an efficient 4-of-6 from the field to retake the lead 37-30 at the under-16 media timeout.

The Rebel defense was stifling as Georgia shot just 2-of-14 over the first eight minutes including 0-of-5 from three-point territory. Ole Miss would extend their lead to 12 with 11:39 to play in regulation.

PUT. BACK. SLAM. 💪@malikkdia x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/xaYa2DCN4r

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 4, 2025

The Bulldogs fought back as Georgia went on a quick 7-0 run over 3:00 minutes of play to cut the deficit to 45-41 with 7:47 left.

As the SJB Pavilion crowd backed the Rebels, Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run over 1:49 to stretch the lead to 58-47 with 1:42 remaining. Jaemyn Brakefield grabbed a huge offensive rebound and putback to help put the game on ice, as the senior had four boards on the day including three on the offensive glass.

The Rebels held the Bulldogs to just 24.1 percent (7-for-29) in the second half and 11.1 percent (1-for-9) from three.

Brakefield and Matthew Murrell each had 15 points to lead the Rebels in scoring. Dia pulled down seven rebounds and Murrell dished out three helpers to lead the team in passing.

Asa Newell had a double-double for the Bulldogs with 13 points and 13 rebounds but was limited to just six points in the second half.

Ole Miss shot 50.0 percent over the final 20 minutes and forced 15 Georgia turnovers on the defensive end.

Ole Miss will hit the road for their first SEC road game of the season Wednesday Jan. 8, against the Arkansas Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1 SEC). Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Bud Walton Arena on ESPN2.

NOTABLES

• Jaemyn Brakefield was terrific for the Rebels with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Brakefield connected on a season-high three three-pointers.
• Matthew Murrell also led the Rebels with 15 points marking his second game this season leading the team in points. Murrell passed Don Kessinger and is now tied with Gerald Glass for 11th on the all-time scoring list at Ole Miss.
• The Rebel defense held Georgia to just 29.3 percent shooting on the afternoon. The Bulldogs entered today’s contest 12th in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 50.7 percent per game.
• Ole Miss outrebounded Georgia who entered today’s matchup 12th in the country in rebound margin at +10.4.
• Dre Davis had a career-high five blocks in the win for the Rebels. His previous high of four happened twice, most recently against DePaul on March 9th, 2024.
• This marks the third time this season Ole Miss has had 10 or more steals and blocks in a game.