Ole Miss Basketball (10-7, 2-2 SEC) hit the road to take on the No. 21 Georgia Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2 SEC) in SEC play on Wednesday, Jan. 14. In a hard-fought effort that went to overtime, the Rebels ultimately prevailed 97-95.
Freshman Payton Pinkins scored a put-back basket at the buzzer to stun the Bulldogs and secure a massive road win for the Rebels. Ole Miss has now won two straight SEC matchups after starting 0-2, with losses to Arkansas and Oklahoma.
AJ Storr led Ole Miss in scoring with 27 points, followed by Payton Pinkins with 18, Travis Perry with 14, Ilias Kamardine with 13 and Kezza Giffa with 11. As a team, Ole Miss shot 51.4% from the field, 45.8% from 3-point range and 73.7% from the free-throw line.
Jeremiah Wilkinson led Georgia in scoring with a staggering 32 points. Georgia shot 37.5% from the field, 42.9% from 3-point range and 76.5% from the free-throw line.
The Bulldogs explosive offense, which ranks No. 1 in the country in terms of scoring with a blistering 96.4 points per game, along with a monster game from Wilkinson, proved to not be enough against the Rebels.
Turnovers hurt the Bulldogs, with the team committing nine total for the game. Ole Miss capitalized and scored 16 points off the Bulldogs’ mistakes. Ole Miss also scored a jaw-dropping 60 points off the bench, with head coach Chris Beard utilizing 11 different players over the course of the game.
Fouls also proved to be a weakness for both teams, Rebels star point guard Kamardine missed significant time down the stretch of the second half and ultimately fouled out. Corey Chest and Storr had four fouls apiece. Georgia center Somto Cyril fouled out as well, and guard Jordan Ross was limited with four fouls
All in all, despite a red-hot offensive night from Georgia, Ole Miss refused to capitulate, and went wire-to-wire to secure a victory over one of the top teams in the SEC.
What’s next?
The Rebels are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 17, on the road against in-state rival Mississippi State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. SEC Network will broadcast the game.
