The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team lost its fifth game of the 2023-24 season on Tuesday night, falling 68-65 by the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks in Colonial Life Arena. It was a close finish, but the Rebels were not exactly in the game until midway through the second period.
The Rebels did not hold a lead at any point in the first half, and went into the locker with South Carolina leading 43-31. Ole Miss guards Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell led the team in scoring in the first 20 minutes with 10 points apiece, and the bench unit racked up zero points in the first period.
The Rebels followed up lackluster first half by allowing South Carolina to extend its lead to 53-36 by the first media timeout of the second half. Overall, Ole Miss looked sloppy on defense and it did not help that its reserves were not contributing on the scoreboard.
Hope was not lost, however, as the Rebels found life midway through the second half. South Carolina only held a five-point lead at the eight and a half minute mark, and Ole Miss brought it within two points a minute later thanks to individual buckets from Murrell, Jamarion Sharp, and Allen Flanigan.
It was too little too late, as the Rebels eventually lost, but they still put forth a promising effort to end the game.
Ole Miss was led in scoring by Flanigan with 26 points, and he was joined in double digits by Murrell (17), and Murray (10). Ole Miss' bench ended the night with six total points.
As a team, Ole Miss shot 51 percent from the field and 40 from three compared to percentages of 47 and 33 from South Carolina, respectively.
This difficult road trip is not over, however, as Ole Miss is now set to take on the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Kentucky owns a 15-6 overall record (5-4 SEC) as of Tuesday, but still has to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores and Gonzaga Bulldogs before its battle with Ole Miss. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN.
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