Ole Miss Basketball defeated the Central Arkansas Bears 92-60 in The Sandy and John Black Pavilion to improve to 2-0 overall on Friday, Nov. 6.
The Rebels starters were guards Budd Clark, Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins with forwards Roman Siulepa and Corey Stephenson.
Stephenson kicked off scoring a minute into the game with a jumper. Ole Miss fired from all cylinders and led the Bears throughout the entirety of the first half. The Rebels’ offensive hustle and defensive pressure prevented the Bears’ offense from attacking the paint. They forced 12 turnovers, and did not have any turnovers of their own.
“We’ve got some physical toughness. We don’t want soft guys on this (team),” head coach Chris Beard said in the postgame press conference. “I think our defense will end up being kind of our discipline. Tonight, there was some good discipline.”
Pinkins led the team with 16 points in the half. He went 6-of-7 on field goals and 4-of-5 on 3-pointers.
“(I was) just playing the game the right way like coach always says,” Pinkins said in the postgame press conference. “(I was) letting the game come to me, not forcing shots (and) being aggressive when I (was) supposed to be aggressive.”
Guard Ben Henshall scored eight points in the half. He was 3-of-6 in field goals and 2-for-5 from beyond the arch. Henshall’s and Pinkins’ back-to-back 3-pointers increased the Rebel lead to 24 points.
“I think it starts on the defensive end (and) provides a crazy lot of offensive opportunities for us,” Henshall said in the postgame press conference. “I think from top to bottom, everyone came and did their role. Our game plan was to pressure the ball, and I think we executed that well.”
Clark’s following jumper and Stephenson’s layup gave Ole Miss their largest lead of the half, 26 points. The Rebels were up 47-24 by halftime.
In the second half, Ole Miss continued to dominate. Pinkins came out scoring. He had an and-one on a fast break less than a minute into the half. Stephenson’s 3-pointer later in the period got the crowd hyped and raised the Rebels’ lead to 28.
The Rebels went on an eight-point scoring rampage in the latter part of the half. Around the nine-minute mark, Clark made a layup in the paint, and Henshall converted on two free throws after a technical foul. Then came another Clark layup off of a fast break and a dunk by Stephenson.
Pinkins continued to lead the Rebels in points with 19 overall. Henshall increased his point total to 13, and Clark also had 13.
Coach Beard subbed out all of his starters and gave the bench players a chance to play. Center Stefan Cicic ended the scoring with a dunk and a jumper from the paint.
“Depth could be one of our biggest allies, one of our biggest strengths,” Beard said. “(We need our) guys continuing to think ‘I’m on a team here, and the goal is for Ole Miss to win.’ Everyone will have an opportunity at some point. Opportunities are earned.”
Ole Miss outscored the Bears 45-36 in the second half, with the biggest lead being 38 points. The Rebels’ suffocating defensive pressure continued and increased Bear turnovers. Ole Miss limited the Bears to 60 points and forced 20 turnovers to secure the win.
Ole Miss spent nearly 39 minutes with the lead. The Rebels shot 54.1% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 71.4% from the free-throw line on 73 possessions.
What’s next?
The Rebels will take on Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in The Sandy and John Black Pavilion. SEC Network+ will broadcast the game.
