OXFORD – Ole Miss closed its first half against Southeastern Louisiana on Monday night on a 24-5 run, and the Rebels defeated the Lions 88-58 in their season opener at SJB Pavilion.

Ole Miss (1-0) is coming off its second-ever Sweet 16 but lost 11 players from last year’s team, including four starters. The lone returning starter from last year is senior forward Malik Dia, who finished with a game-high 20 points and scored his 1,000th-career point in the first half. Dia previously played at Vanderbilt and Belmont prior to his time at Ole Miss.

The Rebels rebuilt their roster this offseason with another talented transfer-portal class and added the nation’s No. 12 traditional recruiting class, per 247Sports’ Composite.

Kansas senior transfer AJ Storr scored 18 points, senior Ilias Kamardine finished with 13 and High Point senior transfer Kezza Giffa scored 12. The Rebels finished the game shooting 52% overall.

“I felt we had a lot of poise, kind of mid-first half, separated a little bit. Lots to clean up, it’s opening night,” third-year head coach Chris Beard said. “These games are very stressful and tense because you’re in competition with somebody you don’t really know what to expect. … We’re pleased tonight to win a game at home. Expect the unexpected on Night 1, thought our guys did a lot of good things.”

The Rebels missed their first four shots from the field Monday before a dunk from junior Louisville transfer James Scott broke the seal. Ole Miss trailed by as many as five early and didn’t take its first lead of the night until nearly 12 minutes into the action, when a steal and layup from Dia gave the Rebels a 20-19 advantage. The Rebels missed 10 of their first 12 shots but made 12 of their final 18 in the first half and led by 16 at the break. Ole Miss was 13 of 18 from the free-throw line in the first.

“I think (Giffa) came in, came in (and) helped us out, gave us some energy off the bench,” said Storr, who hit four 3-pointers. “It started on the defensive end. We got in transition, hit a couple threes, I think Dia got to the free throw line a few times, too.”

The Rebels opened up the second half on a 20-11 run and led by 25 midway through the period. Ole Miss held Southeastern Louisiana to just 7 of 23 shooting in the second half and outrebounded the Lions 44-26 overall.

Ole Miss hosts Louisiana-Monroe Friday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.