No. 25 Ole Miss stuns LSU in Baton Rouge, 72-70, in final minutes with 13-0 run

Oxford, Miss. – Storming back after going down by 11 in the second half, the No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels went on a 13-0 run in the final three minutes of play to take down the LSU Tigers, 72-70, on the road in Baton Rouge.

The win marked the fourth comeback victory of the 2024-2025 season for the Rebels and was the first loss for the Tigers this season when leading by double digits in the final five minutes of play.

We end the game on a 13-0 run to win a 40-minute fight in Baton Rouge!#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/a0xN5t9irz

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 9, 2025

First half

LSU won the opening tip, but no points were scored by anyone until three minutes passed by and Cam Carter saw a second-chance bucket fall for the Tigers. The first Ole Miss bucket came from Sean Pedulla, a goaltend that the guard was also fouled on. Following a stop, Jaemyn Brakefield then gave the Rebels a 5-3 lead before heading into the first media timeout.

Six minutes into play, Curtis Givens III tied it at seven for the Tigers, but Jaylen ‘Juju’ Murray quickly followed with the first triple of the night for Ole Miss to regain the lead, 10-7.

Ole Miss and LSU then traded second-chance buckets after Matthew Murrell‘s free throws, and it was the Tigers’ game to lose after that. LSU went on a 13-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 22-18 lead before Pedulla cut it to a one-point game with another Ole Miss three-pointer. Dre Davis scored all the points for the Rebels during the LSU run.

Shortly after though, Dji Bailey delivered a three-ball right back as LSU pulled away again with a 7-0 run. Davon Barnes and Davis would end this LSU run with back-to-back buckets, and Pedulla cut the lead to four, 32-28, with his second triple of the night.

Daimion Collins would score the next four points for the Tigers, helping his team pull away yet again before the half. Again though it was Pedulla, nailing another deep shot followed by a bucket from Davis that cut the LSU lead to 36-33 with under a minute left in the first half.

However, Carter hit his second triple of the game for LSU with 20 seconds to go, giving the Tigers a six-point lead heading into the locker room. The lead was the first lead of the season for the Tigers at halftime in SEC play.

Pedulla led the way for Ole Miss at the break with 12 points and two assists while making all three of his three-point attempts as well. Davis added eight for the Rebels in the first half before exploding in the second half.

The Tigers made eight of their 12 attempts from the field down the stretch in the first half, helping them pull away. LSU was also dominating Ole Miss in several categories, most notably the seven-to-one offensive rebound differential and the Tigers’ 11 second-chance points to the Rebels’ two.

Second half 

The Tigers picked up right where they left off in the first half, draining back-to-back triples out of the gate that made it a 45-35 game just over a minute and a half into play. Murrell scored the first four points of the half for Ole Miss to keep them within range of the Tigers.

After buckets from Davis and Murrell cut the LSU lead to single digits again, Corey Chest answered with a hard slam off an assist then free throws for the Tigers once again put them up by 10 just five minutes into the half. Davis then scored the next four points for the Rebels to cut the LSU lead to 49-43.

For the next three minutes, a defensive battle ensued, and shots would not fall often. Malik Dia made one of two shots at the charity stripe and Pedulla would hit his fourth triple of the night as Ole Miss cut the LSU lead to just four.

Midway through the second half, Davis cut the LSU lead to 53-50 at the free throw line following a tough bucket from the Tigers. An offensive board shortly after gave Davis another trip to the line, where he made one of his two free shots and cut the Tigers’ lead to 53-51.

Carter would end the 12-4 Ole Miss run with his third triple of the night, but Murray answered in a hurry with a transition floater to keep the LSU lead at three.

Down 57-53, Dia drew a foul to put Ole Miss in the bonus with eight minutes left to play but missed the first attempt on the one-and-one. It was the seventh miss at the line on the night for Ole Miss, but they would finish the remainder of the game 10-of-12. However, the Rebels then went four minutes without a basket, allowing the Tigers to go on a 6-0 run during that span to take another 10-point lead.

LSU was up 63-53 with five minutes left to play when Chest was called for a technical foul following a shooting foul drawn by Davis. The play resulted in a four-point swing for the Rebels that saw Murray and Davis make all four shots at the line. However, Carter immediately answered with his fourth triple of the night to give the Tigers a 66-57 lead.

The Tigers would take a 70-59 lead shortly after Carter’s triple with three minutes left to play, but it was all Ole Miss after that. Murrell and Brakefield made four free throws for the Rebels to cut the deficit to single-digits, and two offensive rebounds after Davis missed a pair of free ones allowed the Rebels to stay alive with Brakefield cutting the LSU lead to seven.

Davis then forced a huge turnover out of LSU with a little less than two minutes to play and it was Brakefield capitalizing on the Tigers’ mistake with a quick transition layup that made it a 70-65 game. Carter looked to be the answer to ice it for the Tigers, but a miss allowed Brakefield to grab a board and push the ball up the floor. With a minute and a half to go, Pedulla drew a foul and cut the LSU lead to three.

On the next possession, LSU found Chest open inside the paint, but Murray fouled him and sent him to the line. The Tigers’ big man would miss both free throws, making it 13 team misses on the night as LSU finished 12-for-25 at the charity stripe.

Murrell grabbed the board with a little over a minute to play following the misses at the line, kicking it ahead to Davis who tried to draw foul on a layup but missed. However, an offensive board gave the Rebels another shot and Brakefield drained a triple with 45 seconds to go, tying the game at 70.

Calm, Cool, Collected@Jaemyn1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/GyUo6rVGqm

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 9, 2025

Carter was then called for a charge on the other end, marking the tenth turnover of the night for LSU. Following a timeout after the Rebels advanced the ball to the front court, Murray stood well behind the three-point line to drain most of the 23 seconds remaining off of the clock.

Pedulla would then look to take the final shot for the Rebels, driving inside and seeing his shot roll around the rim before falling out; but Davis was there for Ole Miss on the tip-in with one .1 of a second remaining on the clock to give Ole Miss a 72-70 victory. The shot was waived off for interference but following review the call was reversed.

UNBELIEVABLE 🤯@DAndreDavis tips it in in the final moments to give us the win!#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/O7yhEEhq0W

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 9, 2025

Davis was the answer all night for Ole Miss with a season-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds as well with four of those coming on the offensive end. Pedulla finished with 17 points, making four of the six three-pointers for Ole Miss on the night as he stayed hot in SEC play. Murrell added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Ole Miss; Brakefield was also key down the stretch for the Rebels finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Ole Miss lost the rebound battle 40-39 but completely flipped the first-half script with 10 offensive rebounds in the second half to the Tigers’ two. After the media timeout with just under four minutes remaining, Ole Miss outrebounded LSU nine to one.

Up next

Chris Beard and the Rebels will stay on the road as they head to Columbia on Wednesday, Feb. 12, to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. Tipoff is set for 6 pm CT on the SEC Network.