It looks like Rebels are back on the right track. After four consecutive losses to SEC opponents, Ole Miss bounced back with a win 80-63 over the now 9-10 Auburn Tigers in front of 8,057 Ole Miss faithful at the Pavilion.
Stefan Moody put up 24 points, matching his season average of 24.3 points per game. The senior point guard returned to the starting lineup after a strained left hamstring to have five assists, six rebounds, and a steal in the Rebels 17-point victory.
Forward Marcanvis Hymon came off the bench with 19 points. But more importantly, Hymon helped the Rebels rebounding with 10 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds, giving Ole Miss second chance opportunities to score.
Auburn’s highest scorer was guard TJ Lang with a career-high 19 points along with three rebounds. The Tigers put up two more three-pointers and two more shots than the Rebels the first half, resulting in a one-point lead at half time.
However, the game was a tale of two halves. Ole Miss outscored Auburn by 18 points in the second half, scoring a staggering 51 points.
Ole Miss rallied back with their seven three-pointers. Moody had five the second half and six overall, and spot-up shooter Rasheed Brooks contributed his own pair of shots from behind the arc. Defense also contributed to the Rebel’s comeback, limiting Auburn to 37 percent from the field and sending a Tiger team to the three throw line, where they struggled the entire night, making 13-22 of their shots. The Rebels improved their defense from last game where they let Mississippi State score over 50 percent from the field.
A Look Ahead:
Ole Miss will change their SEC pace of games to play the Kansas State Wildcats in a Big 12-SEC matchup in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats have an inferior record compared to Ole Miss of 12-8 overall, but a talented Big 12 conference makes Kansas State a creditable contender.
Ole Miss is currently 13-7 and 3-5 in the SEC. They are ninth in the SEC, four games back from the conference leader Texas A&M, who is now ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Hopefully the Ole Miss SEC game slump is over, because it’s close to, if not already, crutch time for the Rebels. With 10 SEC games remaining, Ole Miss will rely on leadership of Stefan Moody, the conference’s leading scorer, and Sebastian Saiz, who is second in rebounding for the SEC. The Rebels have without question the pieces to win, now they just need to do it.
Jack Olstad is a journalism student at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He can be reached at jtolstad@go.olemiss.edu.
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