Ole Miss edges Oklahoma, 87-84, behind Pedulla’s clutch performance
OXFORD, Miss. – Thanks to late game heroics out of Sean Pedulla, the Ole Miss Rebels sneak past the Oklahoma Sooners, 87-84, and capture win number nine in conference play to ultimately lock in a NCAA tournament spot.
W.#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/gg4TrGZVZh
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
Following the game, Rebel head coach Chris Beard commented on snapping a three-game losing streak.
“I didn’t think much of it. This is the SEC, it’s an 18-round fight. You have to have a short memory.”
~ Beard on snapping the losing streak
First half
The Sooners won the opening tip, but the first five minutes were full of offensive struggles for both squads. Ole Miss shot just 3-for-9 from the field to begin the game and Oklahoma turned it over four times, only getting four shots up during that span.
Back-to-back triples for Jaylen ‘Juju’ Murray and Malik Dia helped the Rebels pull away early, but it was Oklahoma answering with a hard drive to the rim and a foul on Dia that cut the Sooner deficit to 13-7.
Beard explained after the win that he views college basketball games as 10 separate four minute games, commenting on the Rebels defensive effort as well.
“The first four minutes of the game was the best defense we played…as the game continued…the defense was kind of non-existent.”
~ Beard on the defensive performance today
After Matthew Murrell gave Ole Miss an eight-point lead, Sean Pedulla knocked down back-to-back triples to counter the five unanswered points by the Sooners. Kobe Elvis then cut the Ole Miss lead to five at the 10 minute mark, but seven straight buckets without a miss and a 6-0 run gave the Rebels a 28-17 lead.
The Rebels led 30-19 with seven minutes left in the half before the Sooners outscored them 19-9 for the remainder of the half. It was Duke Miles and Jeremiah Fears for Oklahoma leading the way, scoring all of those points for the Sooners to end the half.
Miles gave Oklahoma its first lead of the game with just over a minute to go in the half, forcing Ole Miss to use a timeout to talk things over. Jaemyn Brakefield then danced around the backcourt before finding Davon Barnes inside to give the Rebels a 39-38 lead with under 30 seconds left.
Great cut to the hoop by @kingdavon0 ✂️ pic.twitter.com/5qmtAnovXp
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
Pedulla led the way for Ole Miss with 10 points and 3 assists at the break.
Chef Sean in double figures for the 22nd time this season 💪@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/TpQto9MJJj
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
Second half
Oklahoma immediately took the lead to begin the second half with a dunk by Sam Godwin. After Dia tied it up at the line, Pedulla knocked down a triple to give the Rebels the lead right back. Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run after the opening bucket from the Sooners, taking a 45-40 lead.
However, Oklahoma answered with a 6-0 run of their own, taking another one-point lead five minutes into the half. After a back-and-forth from Brakefield and Elvis, the Rebels went on a 8-2 run to give themselves some breathing room as Dre Davis began to heat up.
Dre Davis in double figures for the 16th time this season 💪@DAndreDavis x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/dhu9eAI1tN
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
Freshman Dayton Forsythe stayed efficient for the Sooners, draining his third and fourth shots of the game on just one miss to cut the Oklahoma deficit to two points. Once again though, the Rebels went on a 8-2 run over the next minute and a half, extending the lead to 66-58.
With under 10 minutes left to play, Dia was called for a foul that the Pavilion crowd certainly did not agree with. However, the next possession for the Rebels ended with a scramble for the ball and Pedualla somehow finding the bottom of the net with his fourth triple, giving Ole Miss a 69-60 lead.
INSANITY 🤯@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/eWpJjnpEsu
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
Forsythe completely took over in the second half for the Sooners, scoring 12 of the next 20 points and once again helping Oklahoma take a one-point lead with three minutes left to play. The Oklahoma guard had 23 second half points, ending with 25.
Despite going down by a possession multiple times in the final two minutes of play, Pedulla and Brakefield willed the Rebels to victory with aggressive drives to the rim and drawing fouls. It was Pedulla with the ball in his hands as the Rebels were down 82-84 with 30 seconds remaining, letting a three fly and draining his fifth triple of the night to give Ole Miss the lead.
SEAN PEDULLA 🙌@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/gZ7m1Z6so0
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 1, 2025
After the win, Pedulla explained what it meant to take that shot to ultimately win the game.
“It’s March, you gotta hit some big shots and I took that shot confidently.”
~ Pedulla on the triple to take the lead
After both squads used their final timeouts, Forsythe missed a tough shot on the baseline and Murrell was fouled hard, eventually being changed to a flagrant-1 after review. The upgraded foul gave the allowed Murrell to drain both free ones at the stripe and gave the Rebels the final inbound to ultimately seal the game.
Pedulla led the way for the Rebels, scoring 16 second half points and ending with 26. The Rebel guard drained five triples, including the final one to take the lead, grabbing five boards and adding three assists as well.
Brakefield added 16 more points for the Rebels while Davis, Murrell and Dia combined for 33 points. Most notably, Ole Miss won the battle on the offensive glass 8-5, an area that has been a problem all year.
Up next
The Rebels will back in the SJB Pavilion for the final home game of the season on Wednesday, March 5 when they host No. 5 Tennessee. Tip off is set for 8 pm CT and will be televised on ESPN2.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior 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.
