Despite a late second half surge from Missouri, turnovers made a difference and it helped Ole Miss win their fourth straight game.
Ole Miss defeated the Missouri Tigers 73-63 in the Pavilion on Saturday to move to 18-7 overall, their best record in a 25-game stretch since the 2012-2013 season. The Rebels are 8-4 in SEC play for the first time since 2014-2015.
Missouri dominated the glass, out rebounding Ole Miss 37-21, including a 13-4 edge in offensive rebounds. However, the Rebels took advantage of 25 turnovers and converted 32 points out of them.
“We couldn’t keep them off the boards, especially in the first half. A big stat for our team all year long is points off turnovers.” Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said. “during our four game winning streak, we’ve been averaging 20 points off turnovers and 10 steals. Our 1-3-1 and other defenses converts to offense and is really the reason we won.”
The Rebels had four players score double figures. Bruce Stevens led Ole Miss with 17 points, shooting 5-11 and 3-7 from the three point line The ability for Stevens to shoot in different areas makes his team harder to defend according to Davis.
“It just makes us more of a SEC worthy team and a team that can play better in march because (Stevens) can stretch it,” Davis said. He gave us a good presence. There are a lot of good five’s out there, but he’s a tough matchup.”
Breein Tyree and KJ Buffen each had 14 points while Devontae Shuler had 12. Buffen also had four rebounds that tied for a team lead.
“He (Buffen) naturally tried to rebound. Even if he didn’t get it, he was the one guy that if theres a shot, he’s going,” Davis said.
Ole Miss led for almost the whole game, since they were down 2-0 from the opening minutes.
Their strong finish in the first half put them up 35-26. Coming out of the locker room, the Rebels used a 12-2 run to give them their largest lead of the game with 19 points.
The Tigers didn’t go away. A few big shots, particularly from Missouri’s Jordan Geist, cut the lead to as low as seven points. The Rebels managed to hold on like they did in their previous outing on the road at Auburn.
“Confidence comes from doing hard things over and over again, it leans you in tough situations that you can play. That is what happened. When you win on the road, it breathes unbelievable confidence,” Davis said. “Our team is playing, thinking we can win the game late.”
The Rebels travel to Columbia next week to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. The winner takes fourth place in the SEC standings.
