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Ole Miss Falls Short to No. 18 Kentucky
Photo by Jenner Jordan / HottyToddy.com
Jarvis Summers scores 22 and Anthony Perez scores 21, but the Rebels’ second-half comeback fell short as the Wildcats defeat Ole Miss 84-70 in Oxford Tuesday night.
Julius Randle had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Aaron Harrison added 17 points for the No. 18 Wildcats.
Kentucky (20-6, 10-3 Southeastern Conference) dominated throughout most of the game, going on a 15-0 run midway through the first half to take a 25-11 lead that proved insurmountable.
It was Randle’s 14th double-double of the season. Kentucky was active in the paint and had several alley-oop dunks, jumping over the Rebels’ overmatched defense. The Wildcats had seven dunks in the first half alone.
Ole Miss (16-10, 7-6) lost its third straight game. The Rebels had a bad shooting night and were steamrolled on the boards.
Kentucky had already beaten Ole Miss once this season, 80-64 on Feb. 4 at Rupp Arena. The Rebels kept that game fairly close until the end, but the Wildcats made sure this one was in hand quickly.
Randle had a double-double before halftime, with 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats built a 42-25 lead. Kentucky shot 58.6 percent from the field in the first half, finishing on several high-percentage looks inside and shooting 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
Kentucky had a big lead for most of the second half until a late Ole Miss rally. The Rebels cut it to 76-70 with 1:48 remaining after Perez banked in a 3-pointer, but Randle drove the lane and made a short jumper to stop the surge.
The Rebels simply couldn’t contain Kentucky’s big men — especially Randle. The 6-foot-9 freshman had an efficient night, going 6 of 7 from the field and 13 of 14 at the free throw line. It was his third straight double-double.
But the rest of the Wildcats were good, too. James Young scored 16 points and Andrew Harrison added 10.
Marshall Henderson scored 18 for Ole Miss, but shot just 5 of 17 from the field, including 5 for 14 from 3-point range. The Rebels made only 38.7 percent from the floor (24 of 62).
Kentucky had a 39-23 advantage on the boards, shot 52.1 percent (25 of 48) from the field and 90 percent (27 of 30) on free throws.
–Ole Miss Sports Information
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
| Thu, Jan 2 |  | vs Duke (Gator Bowl) | 6:30 PM • ESPN |