Basketball
No. 23 Ole Miss falls short in upset bid of No. 13 Purdue
Rebels miss last-second three-point shot in 80-78 loss to Boilermakers on Friday in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – No. 23 Ole Miss gave No. 13 Purdue the same that befell highly-ranked UConn and Gonzaga this week, but escaped the Rebels with a two-point win.
Rebels’ guard Sean Pedulla had a chance to give his team an upset win against No. 13 Purdue. Trailing by two points with one second left in the Rady Children’s Invitational championship game, Pedulla received an inbound pass and took a three-point shot.
Unfortunately, his shot was off target and Purdue escaped with an 80-78 victory. Before Pedulla’s shot attempt, Purdue’s Myles Colvin made layup that gave the Boilermakers the lead.
TIE GAME IN SAN DIEGO!!! @OleMissMBB on the fast break! 💪 pic.twitter.com/j0DLbZRBRu
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 30, 2024
The fact Ole Miss had a chance is a testament to how much better the Rebels played in the second half. The Rebels trailed 42-34 at halftime and made just XX percent of their field goals.
But Ole Miss stormed back in the second half, outscoring Purdue 44-38 and making XX percent of its shots, including XX percent from three-point range. For the game, the Rebels made 42.6 percent of their field goals, including 41.7 percent from three-point range and forced 12 Purdue turnovers.
Jaemyn Brakefield led Ole Miss with 18 points off the bench and added five rebounds to his stat line. Matthew Murrell had 14 points and Jaylen Murray had 13 and a team-high nine assists.
Cleaning things up 💪@Jaemyn1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/JYYLLhMS2J
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 30, 2024
Trey Kaufman-Renn led Purdue with 25 points and 13 rebounds and Colvin had 20. Braden Smith added 18 points of his own and registered 11 assists.
Ole Miss earned its spot in the championship game after Jaylen Murray had a career-high 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting as No. 23 Ole Miss defeated BYU 96-85 in an overtime thriller on Thanksgiving Day.
Next up for Ole Miss is the SEC/ACC Challenge where the Rebels will travel to Louisville, Ky. to face Louisville (5-2).