Despite trailing by 19 points late in the first half, No. 24 Ole Miss battled back at Vanderbilt and even claimed the lead on three different occasions, but the home team ultimately got the last laugh in a contest that went down to the wire.
The Rebels (19-8, 8-6 SEC) had become notorious for playing from behind and managing to win on the road. Recent outings at LSU and South Carolina found the Rebels overcoming late deficits and squeaking out hard-fought victories. However, the pendulum swung in the favor of the Commodores (18-9, 6-8 SEC), who have struggled to close out games this year.
As March nears, Ole Miss sits comfortably in NCAA Tournament discussions, and has been dubbed by multiple analysts as a lock to be featured in March Madness brackets. But, the team will need to close out strong in order to earn favorable seeding when the postseason rolls around.
Game Recap
Vanderbilt opened things up with back-to-back triples, forcing Ole Miss to play from behind. Malik Dia and Matthew Murrell each got on the board to cut the Rebels’ deficit to two points, and that was as close as the visitors were to the home club on the scoreboard for the remainder of the half.
For the next seven minutes, the Commodores led an 18-5 run that was fueled by three-pointers from Jason Edwards, Tyler Nickel, and Tyler Taner. Sean Pedulla and Jaemyn Brakefield made a basket each to work the Rebels back into contention near the 10-minute mark.
Ole Miss then went on a near-five-minute stretch without a field goal and Vanderbilt capitalized in major fashion, claiming a 34-15 advantage with 5:46 on the clock. At that point, the Rebels were a staggering 0-9 from three-point range.
Pedulla connected on his team’s first triple of the afternoon, kickstarting a 16-5 Ole Miss run to cut the deficit to a manageable eight points at the intermission. Vanderbilt had a halftime lead of 41-33.
The momentum favored the Rebels early in the second half. Jaylen Murray and Pedulla began to heat up from three, while Dia started to display physicality down low, allowing Ole Miss to flip the scoreboard, 47-46 with 16:08 left in the game. Defensively, on-ball pressure by Chris Beard’s crew made the Commodores uncomfortable, paving the way for mistakes to be made by the home team.
The Rebels’ lead was short-lived, instantly being bested by a Nickel triple. Vanderbilt did not have a fruitless offensive possession over the next five minutes, but the Rebels continued to battle.
Ole Miss reclaimed the lead with just under 12 minutes left to play as Dre Davis was successful from deep. An opportunity that arose for the Rebels to pull away was squandered by a bad pass turnover by Pedulla, and Vanderbilt jumped back on top.
A deep shot by Dia put Ole Miss up 64-62 amid a slow offensive stretch for both clubs. The Rebels were gifted two possessions to add more to their advantage, but those opportunities were rejected.
Edwards nailed a pair of free throws, allowing the Commodores to knot things up, and a costly turnover by Pedulla set up a Chris Mañon three to galvanize the home crowd.
Vanderbilt, leading 67-64 with just under five minutes on the clock, surged offensively as Ole Miss bogged down and struggled to find quality looks.
Dia ended a Rebel scoring drought with 2:20 left in the game. A lost ball turnover by Commodore guard AJ Hoggard gifted Ole Miss a free possession — one that was squandered by another Pedulla error. Nonetheless, Vanderbilt was keen on giving the ball back to Ole Miss. A consecutive Commodore giveaway was converted into a transition layup by Pedulla.
Ole Miss trailed 73-70 with 1:02 remaining in the tight contest. Vanderbilt ultimately slammed the door shut, going a perfect 4-0 at the free-throw line to seal a 77-72 victory.
Impact Players
Vanderbilt had four guys with double figures on the scoreboard on Saturday. Chris Mañon was the ring leader with 16 points and Jason Edwards was a close runner-up with 15. Devin McGlockdon had a notable 10 points and eight rebounds for the Commodores.
Malik Dia and Sean Pedulla accounted for 60% of Ole Miss’ scoring in the road matchup. Dia had 22 points and seven rebounds against his former team. Pedulla scored 21 points and hauled in seven rebounds, but had an uncharacteristic five turnovers. Freshman Eduardo Klafke, who was scoreless, had two blocks and two steals on the defensive end.
Deciding Factor
In what was a remarkably even game on the stat sheet, the Commodores had a major advantage at the charity stripe. Vanderbilt attempted 14 more free throws than its conference counterpart and had eight more points from those additional shots.
Ole Miss was outrebounded 37-30, but had two more second-chance points in the contest. The Rebels also outscored Vanderbilt 21-13 in points off of turnovers.
Ultimately, an inability to pull away when gift-wrapped opportunities cost the Rebels a winnable game in an arena where the home team has beaten a pair of ranked SEC opponents. Starting Rebel guard Matthew Murrell, who has been injury-ridden this season, only had 12 minutes of playing time and made just one shot in the process.
Next Up
Things won’t get any easier for Ole Miss as the regular season nears its end. The Rebels will battle the No. 1 Auburn Tigers on the road on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on ESPN2 and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
