Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Stays Perfect with 72-65 Win over Austin Peay

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss men’s basketball team advanced to 5-0 on the season as the Rebels took down the Austin Peay Governors, 72-65, at the SJB Pavilion Tuesday night.

First Half

Ole Miss came out strong as Malik Dia opened the scoring for either side on Ole Miss’ second trip down the floor. Dia’s jumper gave the Rebels a lead they continued to build on over the first couple of minutes as they went into the first media timeout of the night with a 10-4 with 15:27 showed on the clock.

Ole Miss’ offense slowed, however, as they scored just six points in the next five-and-a-half minutes. Chris Beard’s team was shooting just 7-of-20 from the field and 0-for-2 at the free throw line.

The Rebels’ cool shooting continued as over the next couple of minutes the Governors cut the deficit to just four points, causing Coach Beard to burn his first charged timeout of the night.

Out of the timeout, Ole Miss found a quick run offensively as they turned defense into offense with some transition buckets, including an alley-oop dunk from James Scott as well as Dia finding a transition three to extend their lead to 24-15, forcing the Governors into their first timeout of the night.

However, after that Ole Miss and Austin Peay both continued to struggle from the field before the final media timeout of the half where Ole Miss led 29-23 with 1:28 left in the half.

In the first half it was a challenge for either side to score, with Ole Miss shooting just 34% from the field and 23% from three.

Austin Peay finished the half shooting 25% from the field and 20% from three.

Another factor in the low scoring stemmed from each team’s inability to take care of the ball, with nine total first half turnovers, Ole Miss with four, Austin Peay with five.

The Rebels took a 31-23 lead into intermission.

Second Half

Ole Miss’ second half turned a full 180 degrees at the start. Out of the break, the Rebels converted all three of their attempts from the field and added two more at the line while continuing a solid pace, as they led 46-29 through the first four minutes of the half.

The offenses traded makes and misses with 11:53 on the clock as Ole Miss held a 48-32 advantage.

However, the Rebels struggled again as they totaled just three points in the next four minutes as the Governors stormed back, cutting the Ole Miss lead to just five points with 7:35 left on the clock.

Just a-minute-and-a-half later, Austin Peay pulled themselves even with the Rebels at 52, tying the game for the first time since Ole Miss’ second possession.

However, the Rebels quickly responded with four unanswered points as the clock ticked to 5:30.

Austin Peay kept pushing back and forth to keep it a one possession game, but Ole Miss soon took the lead as Ilias Kamardine converted an and-one layup to give the Rebels a 61-54 advantage with under five minutes to play in the game

Following a pair of defensive stops and Travis Perry drilling a three-pointer, the Rebels to reinstated a 10-point advantage, leading to a media timeout with 3:44 left in the game.

As the clock ticked into the final two minutes, Ole Miss held a 68-58 lead as they were faced with a full court press from the Governors.

Ole Miss would hold on for the 72-65 win as they remain perfect on the season at 5-0.

Notables

Ole Miss finished the night 41 % from the field, 29.2% from three and % at the free throw line.

In comparison, Austin Peay finished the night % from the field, % from three and 71.4 % at the free throw line.

• It was a tough night for both offenses, but some timely shots for Ole Miss helped Ole Miss pull away.
• Ole Miss’ leading scorer was Malik Dia with 18 points, as well as 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
• Ilias Kamardine had another stellar night with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
• Ole Miss defense had their fourth game of the year with double-digit turnovers forced.
• Ole Miss committed just 11 fouls, tied for the fewest in a game under Chris Beard at Ole Miss.

A Look Ahead

Ole Miss returns to the court as the Rebels travel to Palm Desert, California to compete in the Acrisure Classic against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 8:30 pm CT in an SEC vs Big 10 matchup.