'Spark Plug' Guard Sean Pedulla Helped Power Ole Miss Basketball to Win Over Queens

The Rebels didn't play their best game on Saturday, but Pedulla led the way to help them improve to 11-1 overall.

Dec 7, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels guard Sean Pedulla (3) shoots the ball against the Lindenwood Lions during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels were in a dogfight throughout the first half on Saturday against the Queens Royals before they were able to pull away and secure the win.

Queens had a hot hand, and the Rebels were only up by five going into halftime. Ole Miss needed some answers for the Royals' three-point attack, and with the Rebels struggling from beyond the arc as a team, guard Sean Pedulla knew something had to change.

"We took a lot of threes," Pedulla said, "but in the second half and in the last ten minutes in particular, we tried to get into the paint and draw some fouls, and I think that opened things up for us."

According to head coach Chris Beard, that was an emphasis for the team in their halftime talk: getting the ball inside. It paid off as Ole Miss came away with an 80-62 win with 42 of those points coming in the paint.

Pedulla finished the night with 25 points, leading the way for the Rebels in that category. His offensive onslaught could be viewed as surprising, but the three turnovers he forced were not as Pedulla has been a spark plug for the Rebs on the defensive side of the floor throughout this non-conference slate.

Slowing down Queens' success from three was also a point of emphasis for Ole Miss, and Pedulla discussed what a team can do to make that happen.

"I think you've just got to figure out how they're getting those shots," Pedulla said. "A lot of it was rotations, but it's just talking on defense, really. I feel like a lot of their threes were coming off of rotations. Playing through the shot clock, playing an entire possession, and trying to run them off the line are two things you can take away from them."

Rebels also scored 24 points off turnovers, as it seems the Rebels have been more aggressive defensively throughout the beginning of the year, and Pedulla has been a big part of the defensive turnaround.

Another reason for Pedulla's recent success is that he has a strong guard next to him in Jaylen "JuJu" Murray who helps alleviate some of the pressure that Pedulla could face during the course of a game. Having multiple capable guards can be a difference between a good and great team, and these two for the Rebels play off of one another nicely.

"It's very beneficial. I love playing with JuJu," Pedulla said. "I've never really played with somebody like JuJu, just his skillset. I feel like we complement each other in a lot of ways.

"He takes a lot of pressure off of me bringing the ball up the court, guarding other quick guards when I might be a little tired, and just putting pressure on the defense and extending from three-point range."

The Rebels are off until Dec. 28 when they travel up I-55 to take on the Memphis Tigers in a 1 p.m. CT tip-off on ESPN2.