Rebels bounce back from embarrassing loss to Memphis in SEC opener

OXFORD, Miss. – No. 24 Ole Miss isn’t used to playing games before noon and needed some time in its SEC opener to wake up and pull out a 63-51 win against Georgia on Saturday.

The Rebels (12-2, 1-0 SEC) have played just one game, the season-opening exhibition game against Illinois, in the morning and found themselves trailing the Bulldogs  by two points at halftime.

“You have to get some play from veteran players,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said later. “The story of Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield around here is real. It’s well written. They came back here for one reason, to leave a legacy and win.”

Both sides struggled from the floor in the first half and each had a field goal percentage less than 35. But the second half saw a different Ole Miss team.

Ole Miss came out strong to start the second frame, shooting an efficient 4-of-6 from the field to retake the lead 37-30 at the under-16 media timeout. The Rebel defense was stifling as Georgia shot just 2-of-14 over the first eight minutes including 0-of-5 from three-point territory. Ole Miss would extend their lead to 12 with 11:39 to play in regulation.

Georgia went on a 7-0 run in three minutes of gameplay, cutting the deficit to 45-41 with 7:47 left in the game. But it was the closest the Bulldogs would get to the Rebels on the scoreboard the rest of the game.

The Rebels held the Bulldogs to just 24.1 percent (7-for-29) in the second half and 11.1 percent (1-for-9) from three.

Murrell and Brakefield led the Rebels with 15 points each. Murrell also had six rebounds and a team-high three assists and Brakefield had four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot. Malik Dia led the Rebels in rebounds with seven and Davon Barnes, John Bol and Murrell each had six.

After a loss at Memphis last weekend, it was week of basically re-grouping because they didn’t want that to happen again.

“Today you saw that (desire) out there,” Beard said of Brakefield and Murrell. “Their minds and hearts were in the right place tonight. They made winning plays. The last rebound by Brake was the most important play of the game. That’s where his heart was.

“They just had the look in their eye today. We’re not losing at home.”