The Rebels played valiantly and even led at times against the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers, but came up short and lost 62-57 on March 14.
Dre Davis was the best player for the Rebels with 12 points, six rebounds and an assist. Guard Sean Pedulla also had 12 points and a single rebound. Overall, the turnovers in the first half hurt the Rebels with seven in the first alone.
While the team lost, they are set up nicely for a single digit seed in the NCAA Tournament, with selection Sunday coming up.
First half
Davis struck first in the game, he made a tough mid-range shot. Both teams missed a few shots early, but Auburn hit a three for their first points of the game. The Ole Miss defense came to play and was uncharacteristically grabbing rebounds early. The game was tied at six at the first media timeout.
The Rebels took a five point lead, capitalizing on bad shooting from Auburn. The Tigers’ size started to play a factor as Ole Miss was struggling to guard Johni Broome. The Rebels were shooting under 30% from the field for most of the half.
Ole Miss was also turning the ball over with errant shots and bad passes, which allowed for quick transition baskets from Auburn. The Rebels then went on a scoring drought with five minutes left to go in the half.
Auburn’s lead grew to nine as they started to pull away with the game and assert their overall dominance. Malik Dia blocked a dunk attempt to try and spark some life back into the Rebels. Ole Miss started to fight back towards the end of the half, gaining some sort of momentum going into the half down seven. It was a low scoring half with both teams under 30 at 29-22.
Second half
Both teams scored on their first shots out of halftime, with the Rebel defense doubling Broome. Sean Pedulla got his second field goal of the game, a potential sign of him starting to come alive. The Rebels went on a 6-0 run after the beginning of the half.
A deep three from Auburn put an end to the Rebels good start. The Tigers held an eight-point lead at the first media timeout of the half, with the Rebels not quite giving up yet. Both teams started going back and forth.
The lead stayed at eight for a majority of this time, but the Rebels soon started to close the gap. Auburn struggled with turnovers in the second half, a near complete switch from the first in which the Rebels struggled to keep the ball.
Pedulla cut the lead to four and then Dre Davis cut it to two. Ole Miss came alive with eight minutes left to go, and their offense finally started to get going. While there were some miscues, overall, this offense looked like night and day from the first half.
Pedulla tied the game up with a very good layup, with Ole Miss going on a bit of a run. The final five minutes came and the intensity level of the game shot up. The Rebels were down two with four minutes left and Broome got sent to the line.
Auburn started to pull away a bit, having a seven point lead with three minutes to play. The Rebels started to push back and wear down a double digit lead for Auburn. This winded up being for naught, and Ole Miss’ SEC Tournament run would come to an end as they fell to the Tigers with a final score of 62-57.
