Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Downs Southern Miss, 71-67

BILOXI, Miss.  –  (Release) Ole Miss rallied in the second half to defeat Southern Miss 71-67 in Biloxi, Mississippi, at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Ole Miss (6-4) got out to a quick 6-2 lead against Southern Miss (6-5) after AJ Storr knocked down a free-throw at the 16:08 mark. The Rebels continued to ride the early offensive momentum to a ten-point lead, 25-15, with less than seven minutes to play.

However, Southern Miss would respond with a 13-6 run to get within four, 27-31, before Tylik Weeks hit a mid-range jumper for the Golden Eagles in their final possession of the half to only trail by two headed into the halftime break, 29-31.

In the second half, the Golden Eagles managed to take a five-point lead, 43-38, after Weeks converted on a midrange jumper with less than 14 minutes left to play. Finding a spark in the second half, Storr and Kezza Giffa led the way for the Rebels, as Storr scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half while Giffa added 11.

The Rebel duo helped propel the Rebels to victory as Ole Miss retook the lead 45-44 at the 11:30 mark after Malik Dia sank his second free throw after being sent to the charity stripe.

The Rebels never looked back, maintaining control the rest of the way as a corner three from Patton Pinkins helped seal the deal with under five minutes left.

NOTABLES

·      The victory today gave head coach Chris Beard his 50th win at Ole Miss, becoming the 13th coach to hit that mark in school history and fifth to do so in his third season.

·      AJ Storr connected on a season-high eight field goals, scoring a team-best 21 points while adding a pair of steals on defense.

·      This was the fourth game Ole Miss collected 10 or more steals in a game, led by Kezza Giffa’s three swipes.