All eyes were on senior Devontae Shuler and forward Romello White on Saturday night for the Rebels as the two seniors put on a phenomenal show against Auburn.
Not only did Shuler make a buzzer-beating shot at the end of overtime to claim the victory over Auburn, but he also produced a season-high 26 points with six rebounds and four assists. White put up a career-high 30 points with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. White also blocked four shots and tallied one assist.
“So proud for our players hanging tough,” head coach Kermit Davis said in a press conference. “We got good play off the bench. Shuler and White were fantastic. Just a great week for the Rebels.”
This was the second game in a row where the Rebels came from behind in double-digits to win the game. The Rebels were down 11 points to Tennessee on Tuesday and came back for the upset win, similar to the performance against Auburn.
It was a team victory for the Ole Miss Rebels, who shot 50% from the field. Junior Robert Allen tied his season-high 12 points, adding five rebounds and one assist. Junior Jarkel Joiner added eight points of his own and tallied one assist. Coming off of the bench, sophomore Sammy Hunter had a season-high five points with two assists. Sophomore Luis Rodriguez had nine big boards for the Rebels and tallied five points and three assists, as well.
The game came down to who could do the little things right. Free-throws played a major role in the game as the Rebels shot 82.4% from the line while the Tigers only shot 66.7%. Ole Miss out-rebounded Auburn by one, 35-34, 12 of those being on the offensive glass. The Rebels forced nine steals, and Joiner credited four.
Ole Miss also forced 17 turnovers and scored 17 points off of the Tigers. The Rebels never gave up throughout the whole game and played with energy and aggression, making the Tigers work for every single point they got. The 1-3-1 defense is quickly becoming a staple for the Rebels.
Ole Miss improves to 10-8 overall this season with five wins in conference and six losses. Auburn, now on a three-game losing streak, falls to 10-10 on the season with only four conference wins and seven losses.
The Rebels will be back at the Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 10 to take on Missouri at 8 p.m.
