Ole Miss Men’s Basketball hosted No. 15 Arkansas on Jan. 7. The Razorbacks defeated the Rebels 94-87. Forward Malik Dia and guard Ilias Kamardine led the Rebels with 16 points apiece.
First Half
Guard Patton Pinkins started the game after his 25-point performance against Oklahoma a few days ago.
Like last game, the Rebels kept the first half tight. The Razorbacks accumulated several leads, but the Rebels caught up each time with quick spurts of scoring. After the game was tied at six, Arkansas scored nine unanswered points, but a three by guard Kezza Giffa stopped the scoring run.
The half was a duel between individual scorers. Guard AJ Storr connected on two tough takes to the basket and hit a step-back jumper; Dia buried a fadeaway behind the three point line and hit a contested jumper from the wing. Kamardine hit two three-pointers and finished the half with 10 points.
On the other end, guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas – the highest-scoring pair of freshmen in the country — added physical finishes, runners and contested jump shots of their own.
Arkansas dominated on the interior. They had 18 points in the paint to Ole Miss’ 10. Though the turnover numbers were roughly the same at halftime — Ole Miss had six and Arkansas had five — Ole Miss looked to get into some dangerous territory early. Arkansas averages 7.2 steals per game, but they already had four by the 10-minute mark.
As the half progressed, Arkansas slowly crept ahead. Ole Miss managed to get within two, 32-30, but the Razorbacks finished the half on a 10-2 run behind back-to-back threes by forward Trevon Brazile. They went into halftime up 42-32.
Second Half
Arkansas head coach John Calipari called a timeout with 18:39 left after Ole Miss forward James Scott scored two straight baskets.
Early on, the Rebels struggled to handle the Razorbacks’ full-court pressure. Karter Knox stole a long pass and drilled a three-pointer, and a jump ball after a scrum at midcourt gave the Razorbacks possession. Acuff then scored a floater.
The Rebels remained within about eight points for most of the half. Dia was the engine of the offense: he had a three-point play when he was fouled on an up-and-under layup, and knocked down a fadeaway jumper a few plays later.
It was a physical game, and both teams racked up fouls in a hurry. Arkansas was in the double bonus with 10:37 to play, and Ole Miss was in the bonus before the 10-minute mark. Dia drew his fourth foul with just under nine minutes left, and head coach Chris Beard pulled him from the game.
The Razorbacks went ahead 76-61 with about eight minutes to play, and the game began to look out of reach — Beard, as he has done all season, rotated players in and out. Guard Eduardo Klafke checked in and hit nine straight points. Dia did not return, and Storr saw only a few more minutes.
Other bench players stepped up. Forward Augusto Cassiá hit an and-one, Klafke nailed a nifty pull-up off one foot and a three by guard Koren Johnson made the score 89-85. Pinkins stole the ball from Acuff and attempted a three in transition to put the Rebels within one, but he missed.
The teams traded baskets. Up 91-87, Arkansas spread out to give Acuff a one-on-one against his defender. Acuff drove to the rim and scored, and Giffa launched a wild three that missed everything on the other end. The Razorbacks won 94-87. Acuff finished with 26 points and nine assists. He was one of five Razorbacks who finished in double figures.
What’s next?
The Rebels (8-7, 0-2 SEC) will host the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 5 p.m. CT. SEC Network will broadcast the game.
