No. 19 Ole Miss has all, but stamped its name in the NCAA Tournament bracket after earning another gritty win on the road — the latest being a 72-68 victory over a South Carolina bunch unphased by its conference record.
The Gamecocks (10-14, 0-11 SEC) trailed by as many as 13 points as the Rebels (19-6, 8-4 SEC) shot the lights out in the first half, but never surrendered in the contest, putting themselves in prime position to end an 11-game losing streak. A strong closing argument by Ole Miss big man Malik Dia thwarted South Carolina’s valiant efforts and the Rebels left Columbia 72-68 victors.
Wednesday night’s tightly-contested matchup was the Rebels’ first win over the Gamecocks since March 8, 2023. South Carolina’s latest midweek shortcoming marked the sixth SEC loss that was decided by five or fewer points.
Game Recap
South Carolina capitalized on an early turnover by Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla to go up 4-0 within the first minute of action. Multiple Rebels got going offensively to help the team mount a 12-2 run over the next four minutes. But the pendulum continued to swing in rapid succession and South Carolina cut its deficit to two with 11:54 remaining in the first half.
A triple by Jaylen Murray ended the Gamecocks’ surge on the scoreboard. The three balls kept falling for the road Rebels as Davon Barnes, Dia, and Jaemyn Brakefield hit deep shots, earning Ole Miss a 13-point advantage — the largest of the night. The Rebels closed the half with a 42-32 lead and shot 65% from the field.
Ole Miss maintained its double-digit lead for the first three-and-a-half minutes after the intermission, but an inevitable South Carolina run was on the horizon. The Gamecocks found themselves practically living at the charity stripe in the second half and used free throws to amass supplemental scoring.
Eight free shots, a pair of threes by Jamarii Thomas, and a layup later, South Carolina trailed by just four points with 12 minutes left to play. Pedulla landed a triple during the Gamecocks’ run to help keep the Rebels on top. But South Carolina continued to chip away and flipped the scoreboard at the 6:55 mark courtesy of a jumper by Thomas.
Facing its first deficit in roughly 30 minutes of action largely due to nearly a six-minute stretch without a field goal, Ole Miss was in dire need of a hero and Dia rose to the occasion. Showing flashes of what he had done in previous road wins at Arkansas and Alabama, Dia began to will the Rebels as he scored 12 straight for the red and blue.
A Dia three-pointer gave Ole Miss a 69-66 lead with 2:04 on the clock. Jacobi Wright landed a successful jumper at the 1:38 mark to cut the Rebels’ lead to one point. Dre Davis muscled his way into a crowded paint of Gamecock defenders and hit a go-ahead shot to put Ole Miss up three with the game on the line.
Collin Murray-Boyles, who had a fantastic game for South Carolina, made a costly error late, preventing his team from coming back to earn their first conference win of the year.
Impact Players
Dia led Ole Miss in scoring with 18 points, 12 of which came when the team was in dire straits offensively. The big man rebounded from a one-point performance in Saturday’s nail-biting win over LSU. Brakefield had a relatively quiet 14 points, but was a remarkable 4-6 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line.
For South Carolina, Murray-Boyles was the go-to guy. The sophomore forward logged a game-best 20 points in the matchup and was consistent all night. Gamecock guard Zachary Davis had a game-best 10 rebounds.
Deciding Factor
South Carolina attempted 15 more free throws than Ole Miss on Wednesday night, but that only yielded a net positive of six points in the Gamecocks’ advantage. The Rebels made up for the disparity from behind the arc where they were an impressive 8-13 (82%).
In a game where the turnover battle resulted in a gridlock, Chris Beard turned to his bench, primarily Brakefield, for a boost on the scoreboard. Ole Miss’ non-starters outscored South Carolina’s 19-9
Next Up
Ole Miss will return home for a shot at revenge against Mississippi State on Saturday. The ballgame will tip-off at 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
