Caleb HarrisA monster second half helped send the Ole Miss Rebels past the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in a dominant 93-68 win on Nov. 12. The Rebels shot the roof off The Pavilion shooting 57% from the field, 42.9% from the three-point line and 100% from the free throw line in the second half. Ole Miss shot 50.7% from the field as a unit, 37.9% from the three-point line and 85% from the free throw throughout the game. The win pushes Ole Miss to 2-0 early in the season.
The Rebels had five players to score in the double figures, led by top scorer senior guard Jarkel Joiner, who had 24 points, 16 of those points coming in the second half.
Joiner shot at a solid 9-14 from the field, 4-7 from the three-point line, three rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Joiner wasn’t alone in this one. Rebel guard Matthew Murrel had 11 points and shot 50% from the field, guard Luis Rodriguez had 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and forward Jaemyn Brakefield added 10 points, went 5-10 from the field goal and brought down eight rebounds.
The Rebels only scored 37 points in the first half and hit a scoring wall late in the first. The only player that scored in double figures in the first was junior guard Austin Crowley with 11 points, nine of which came from three pointers. Crowley also tallied nine assists, one rebound, and two steals.
“He’s stuck right with it, he loves Ole Miss, he wants to be a really good player here,” Head Coach Kermit Davis said. “I think his strength level is a lot better.”
After a strong first half, Crowley was sidelined early in the second half with cramps.
The Rebels had their biggest lead in the first half with a margin of 15 points at the six minute mark in the first due to an 11-0 run. It seemed that the game would be taken care of easily, but the Rebels struggled to make a shot from the field late in the first. In the second half the Rebels experienced a resurgence, scoring 56 points to break the game wide open. Ole Miss only committed 10 turnovers the entire game, which was a huge contribution to their success. Out of their 11 threes, the Rebels made six in the second half combining that with 42% from the three and that’s the perfect recipe that pleases coach Davis.
“I think it was good. I thought we shot some good rhythm balls on the (fast) break from three,” Davis said. “Good things happen to us in the break. We’re really fast a lot of times. I think our pace is good, I don’t know how many possessions we had tonight, but I think our guys feel comfortable about it. The biggest thing is we played at a much faster pace and were really taking care of the ball.”
On the defensive side the Rebels held the Buccaneers to 68 points total, only 27 points coming in the first half. Ole Miss suffocated Charleston Southern from the field and the three point line allowing 36.9% shooting from the field and 25.0% from three. This was huge considering Charleston Southern scored 118 points in their previous matchup against JWU- Charlotte. Their defensive presence was felt throughout as the Rebels forced 14 turnovers and only 10 offensive rebounds were allowed. This is the second week where the Rebels have held an opponent to under 70 points. The Buccaneers did not score off of any fast break points or opportunities. The Rebels defense held them to zero while the Ole Miss offense had 27.
The Rebels travel to Charleston, South Carolina to play in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic on Nov. 18 against Marquette. The game will start at 6 p.m. CST and will be aired on ESPN2/ ESPNU.
