OXFORD — Ole Miss men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy is a realist.
His post-game press conference following his team’s 92-63 blowout victory against Austin Peay proved it.
“This is a good win for a lot of reasons,” Kennedy said. “But I’m looking ahead to the conference season beginning Tuesday, and it’s No. 1 Kentucky. I’m excited about that.”
Ole Miss (9-4) provided its best home court performance of the non-conference schedule, led by Jarvis Summers with 18 points. The Rebels placed four players in double figures, had the edge in every statistical category and led by as many as 31 points in the second half.
“Jarvis is starting to play better again and when that happens, we play better again,” Kennedy said. “We knocked down shots tonight and that’s something we’re going to have to do to compete in Lexington.”
Ole Miss shot a season-best 55 percent (34 of 62) from the field, including 11 of 21 from 3-point range. Stefan Moody added 14 points, Dwight Coleby had 12, and Terrence Smith had 10.
“We’ve been inefficient at times with turnovers this season,” Kennedy said. “Today we had 23 assists and four turnovers in the second half and that shows we are sharing the ball. We’ve got to do that.”
Khalil Davis scored 20 points for Austin Peay (5-9). Chris Freeman added 12 points and six rebounds, while Ed Dyson added 10. The Governors shot 35 percent (19 of 54) from the field and had 16 turnovers.
Ole Miss was 3-3 at home in non-conference play entering the game and held a 28-26 lead with 2 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first half. The Rebels responded with a 12-0 run to build a 42-29 halftime lead, highlighted by 3-pointers by Summers and Moody.
The Rebels were never threatened in the second half. Ole Miss led by 31 points on three occasions, the final time at 89-58 on a 3-pointer by LaDarius White with 2:06 left.
“We’re going to have to hit jump shots against Kentucky. We’re going to have to be A-Plus on jump shots,” Summers said. “We did that against a team that played hard. We play a great team Tuesday, but it feels good to be playing well again because I want to help my team.”
NOTES: The Rebels hit a season high 11 3-pointers, including 4 of 7 by Moody. The Rebels were 13 of 17 (76.5 percent) from the free-throw line. Ole Miss entered the game leading the nation in free-throw percentage (78.5 percent).
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