Rebels Take Care of Business vs. Arkansas, Pick Up Third SEC Victory
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels picked up their third conference victory of the season on Wednesday night, beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 77-51 in The Sandy and John Black Pavilion. After dropping their last two SEC road games, the Rebels stopped their conference skid with a much-needed home victory over Arkansas.
The Rebels (16-3, 3-3 SEC) jumped out to a 24-9 lead over Arkansas (10-9, 1-5 SEC) with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Razorbacks quickly cut Ole Miss' lead to just six points. Fortunately for the Rebels, they were able to power through a scoring drought to finish the first period with a 38-26 lead over Arkansas. Guard Matthew Murrell led the Rebels in scoring in the first half with 12 points.
The Rebels kept knocking down buckets in the second half and eventually led Arkansas by more than 20 points. It has not happened often this season, but Ole Miss won the rebound battle versus Arkansas after bringing in 43 boards on Wednesday.
Ole Miss was led in scoring by Jaylen Murray with 21 points, and he was joined in double digits by Murrell (18), Allen Flanigan (10), and Jaemyn Brakefield (11). As a team, the Rebels shot 47 percent from the field and 37 from three compared to percentages of 33 and 23 from Arkansas, respectively.
The Rebels are now set to battle the Texas A&M Aggies on the road in Reed Arena on Saturday. Texas A&M owns a 12-7 overall record entering its matchup versus the Rebels. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
