No. 24 Ole Miss downs Bryant, matches program's best start

Allen Flanigan had 20 points and nine rebounds and No. 24 Ole Miss matched the best start in school history with a 95-78 victory against Bryant in the final nonconference game for both teams Sunday in Oxford, Miss.

Matthew Murrell added 18 points, Jaemyn Brakeford had 16, Mousse Cisse had 10 and Jamarion Sharp finished with 10 rebounds and eight points for the Rebels (13-0). Ole Miss tied the record start of the 2007-08 team heading into their SEC opener against No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.

Sherif Gross-Bullocks scored 24, Rafael Pinzon had 21 and Earl Timberlake added 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (8-7), who begin America East Conference play at UMBC on Saturday.

Flanigan scored seven consecutive Rebels points as they extended their 11-point halftime lead to 52-34 early in the second half.

Bryant, which eclipsed 100 points in each of its last two games, crept within 13 points twice before Ole Miss opened a 16-point lead on three occasions.

Doug Edert and Gross-Bullock made consecutive 3-pointers as the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 70-60 with 7:38 left.

Flanigan made two free throws and a jumper to push the lead to 14 and the Rebels maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

The Rebels scored the first four points of the game before the Bulldogs took their only lead at 7-6 on a jumper by Timberlake.

Jaylen Murray and Brakefield made consecutive 3-pointers during a 13-0 run that gave Ole Miss a 12-point lead.

Gross-Bullock ended the run by making a free throw, but Murray made a 3-pointer and another jumper to extend the lead to 33-17.

Bryant went on a 13-5 run to pull within eight points before the Rebels scored the final three points to take a 41-30 halftime lead.