Rebels Lose Early Lead vs. Kentucky, Drop Third Straight Game

The Ole Miss Rebels dropped their third contest in a row on Tuesday night against the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats.
Rebels Lose Early Lead vs. Kentucky, Drop Third Straight Game
Rebels Lose Early Lead vs. Kentucky, Drop Third Straight Game /

The Ole Miss Rebels dropped their third straight game on the hardwood on Tuesday night, falling to the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats 75-63 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

The Rebels (18-6, 5-6 SEC) jumped out to an early (albeit small) lead partway through the first half, holding a 21-20 advantage at the under eight media timeout. From then on, however, most of the runs on offense favored the Wildcats who led 43-29 at the intermission, although Ole Miss did go on an early 6-0 run out of halftime.

USATSI_22514340
© Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Matthew Murrell was a big part of Ole Miss' early success on Tuesday night, sinking three threes in the first half. After his heater, however, he cooled off and finished 3-for-7 from beyond the arc.

By the game's end, three Ole Miss players had finished the night in double-digit point totals, led by Jaemyn Brakefield and Murrell with 16 apiece and Allen Flanigan with 10. As a team, the Rebels shot 37.5 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three.

Kentucky, by comparison, was 51.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three.

LIVE UPDATES: Ole Miss Faces No. 22 Kentucky at Rupp Arena

With the loss, the Rebels have now lost three in a row, and they will return to the friendly confines of the SJB Pavilion on Saturday when they play host to the Missouri Tigers.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.


Published
John Macon Gillespie
JOHN MACON GILLESPIE

John Macon Gillespie is the publisher of The Grove Report and has experience on the Ole Miss beat spanning five years.