No. 24 Ole Miss trailed by as many as 19 in the first half Saturday at Vanderbilt but took the lead three times in the second half before ultimately falling to the Commodores 77-72 in Nashville.
It’s the second straight loss for the Rebels (19-8, 8-6 SEC), and it was their first game in a week since losing by 10 at home to Mississippi State last Saturday.
The Commodores (18-9, 6-8) jumped out to a 12-point lead in the game’s first five-and-a-half minutes, holding the Rebels to 0 for 6 from 3-point range over that span. Ole Miss trailed by 19 with just over five minutes left in the first and missed its first nine 3-point tries before senior guard Sean Pedulla made one with 4:51 to play. The Rebels finished the half on an 11-3 run and trailed by eight at halftime.
The Rebels shot 39% from the field overall in the first half and went 3 of 13 from 3-point range.
Ole Miss cut the deficit to one early in the second half after another Pedulla 3-pointer, and the Rebels took their first lead of the game on a layup from senior guard Jaylen Murray. Vanderbilt responded with a 3-pointer from Tyler Nickel, and the teams proceeded to go back-and-forth before the Commodores used a 9-0 run to surge ahead by seven with 3:13 to play.
Pedulla scored six straight Ole Miss points to bring the Rebels within three with 29 seconds to play. But Devin McGlockton hit a pair of free throws to seal the game for Vanderbilt.
Junior forward Malik Dia led the Rebels with 22 points, while Pedulla finished with 22. The Rebels forced 13 turnovers and scored 21 points off the Commodores’ mistakes. Vanderbilt out-rebounded Ole Miss 37-30.
Ole Miss plays at Auburn Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
