The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team earned its 20th win of the season by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 87-84 on Saturday, March 1 in the John and Sandy Black Pavilion.
Rebel Guard Sean Pedulla tallied 26 points to lead all scorers, including a go-ahead three-point shot with 18 seconds remaining.
After four straight losses, Ole Miss had fallen off the AP Top 25 rankings. As the NCAA Tournament approaches, the Sooners were projected to be one of the last four teams to sneak into the Top 64.
Both of these factors created a must-win feeling in the Pavilion.
Starting the game with energy, the Rebels forced turnovers on Oklahoma’s first two possessions. Guard Guard Dre Davis scored the first five points for the Rebels.
Ole Miss created lots of defensive pressure in the first half, causing nine turnovers and forcing two shot clock violations.
The Rebels held the lead for 16 minutes in the first half and led by as many as 11. Despite this, the Sooners remained competitive and were down by one point heading into halftime 38-37.
Oklahoma battled behind guard Dayton Forsythe, who scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half. Forward Jaemyn Brakefield and Pedulla led the Ole Miss scoring charge.
After much back-and-forth, the Rebels took a nine-point lead on a play that consisted of an offensive rebound, a diving save and three-pointer all in succession by Pedulla at the eight minute mark to bring the score to 69-60.
Oklahoma scored nine straight points to get a one-point lead with just under three minutes remaining to make it 80-79.
After two free-throws by Forsythe, Brakefield tied the game at 82.
The Sooners and Miles responded again to take a two-point lead with 31 seconds remaining.
With 18 seconds remaining, Pedulla made a three to give the Rebels the lead. After securing a defensive rebound, guard Matthew Murrell made two free throws to close out the game and get the Rebels back in the win column. The Rebels finished with five double-digit scorers.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will host No. 4 Tennessee on Wednesday, March 5 at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN.
