Road conference wins will likely be few and far between in a strong, deep SEC this year, and Ole Miss will take them where they can get them.
The Rebels overcame an early hole to score a 73-66 win over Arkansas on the road Wednesday night. Malik Dia had a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds for Ole Miss, and Sean Pedulla added another 16 points. The Rebels will turn around and host LSU on Saturday.
Ole Miss (13-2, 2-0 SEC) never led in the first half, but the Rebels found a way to hang around. Arkansas (11-4, 0-2) led by as many as nine points, including a 10-1 start to the game. The Razorbacks couldn’t miss early on and had a stretch where they made seven out of nine shots from the floor to lead 27-18.
But the Rebels clawed their way back in it, thanks in part to Dia and Pedulla. The two combined for 20 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer from Pedulla late in the first half to tie the game at 33-33 heading into halftime.
Ole Miss took its first lead of the game coming out of halftime, and the Rebels took control early in the second half. The Rebels extended their lead to 10 after a 7-0 run. Arkansas cut the Ole Miss advantage to four midway through the half, but that was as close as it would get to mounting a comeback. Dia buried a three with 1:10 left in the game to put Ole Miss up by nine and put Arkansas away.
Ole Miss tightened up defensively in the second half. Arkansas shot just 31% in the second half and 1 for 11 from behind the arc.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, enjoyed a solid night from outside, shooting 39%. Pedulla made three of his four three-point attempts for the Rebels. Ole Miss had three players hit double-digit points with Dia, Pedulla and Dre Davis (10).
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 33 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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
