The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team lost to LSU 106-99 on Wednesday, Feb. 25, marking the Rebels’ 10th straight SEC loss. Guard Ilias Kamardine led the Rebels with 26 points and 10 assists. He was one of four Rebels who finished with 16 points or more.
First half
Both teams started out hitting shots. LSU had more open looks from beyond the arc, but the Rebels countered with fast break points and free throws.
Forward Corey Chest hyped up the crowd with a steal and dunk in transition to tie the game at 15.
LSU guard Max Mackinnon started out red hot from the field. He scored 15 points by the midway point of the first half. He finished the game with 34 points, including shooting 4-of-6 3-pointers.
“I thought No. 3 (Mackinnon) on LSU was the best player on the floor, and we couldn’t guard him,” Beard said in a postgame press conference.
Forward Malik Dia combatted Mackinnon’s scoring with 10 early points of his own.
The Rebels went into the half leading 42-41. Only five players for LSU scored in the half, while eight different Rebels put up points. Dia led the Rebels with 13, and Mackinnon led the Tigers with 18. Both had shooting percentages of around 60%.
Second half
The Rebels started off the second half with three straight made baskets. Guard Eduardo Klafke and Kamardine both made 3-pointers, and Dia followed up this shooting tear with a fastbreak dunk.
However, LSU had a response to every Ole Miss basket. For example, Storr hit a 3-pointer, but on the next possession, LSU guard Jalen Reece made a three of his own.
In one of the biggest plays of the game, Klafke stole the ball and passed it ahead to Storr, who flushed a windmill dunk which revitalized the crowd.
A six-point scoring stretch with about 10 minutes left gave the Rebels a morale boost. Kamardine registered a steal, and Klafke drew a loose ball foul, both of which led to scores for the Rebels, bringing their lead up to seven points.
Still, with only a minute and a half left in the game, both teams were tied at 80. Chest broke the tie with a slam dunk off a lob pass from Klafke; he was fouled on the play, but missed his free throw.
On the next possession, Klafke had yet another steal. Kamardine had a chance to put the Rebels ahead by four, but his layup spun off the rim.
LSU tied the game. Though Ole Miss had the lost shot, guard Patton Pinkins’ 3-pointer was no good, and the game went into overtime.
Overtime
Both teams missed shots early, but two free throws and an alley-oop dunk by Storr put the Rebels ahead. LSU quickly recovered and tied the game at 90. With 7.6 seconds left, Beard took a timeout and drew up a play, but Storr missed a midrange jumper, and the Rebels squandered yet another chance at a game-winner.
Kamardine opened the second overtime with a pair of free throws. The Tigers followed these with an and-one layup which put them ahead 95-92. A Dia floater cut the Tiger lead to one, but LSU pulled ahead once again.
A few missed shots from the Rebels and some crucial shots by LSU put the Tigers ahead by five. With just under 30 seconds left in the game, the Rebels were in too deep a hole to make a comeback. They lost 106-99.
“We had a chance to win it in regulation and didn’t execute the out of bounds play,” Beard said in a postgame press conference. “AJ (Storr) was wide open and we missed him. (We had a) chance to win it at the end of the first overtime. We had one of our best players with the ball in the middle of the floor, so unfortunately, it didn’t go our way.”
With this loss, the Rebels dropped to last place in the SEC.
Several Rebels filled up the stat sheet. Kamardine scored 26 points and added 10 assists, Dia scored 20, Storr scored 19 and Klafke scored 16.
What’s next?
Ole Miss (11-17, 3-12 SEC) will visit Auburn on Feb. 28. SEC Network will broadcast the game.
