Sean Pedulla canned six 3-pointers and scored 18 points as No. 19 Ole Miss rolled to a 77-46 win over in-state rival Southern Mississippi on Saturday in Biloxi, Miss.
Pedulla, a Virginia Tech transfer, added four assists against just one turnover in 31 minutes for the Rebels (9-1). Jaylen Murray chipped in 14 points, going 4-for-8 from 3-point range as Ole Miss converted 13 of 32 attempts from behind the arc as a team.
Denijay Harris scored 16 points to pace the Golden Eagles (4-6) but simply didn’t have enough help. Southern Miss made only 32.7 percent of its field-goal tries, going 4-for-23 on 3-point attempts. It also coughed up 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for Ole Miss.
Davon Barnes contributed nine points and 11 rebounds for the Rebels, leading them to a 40-34 advantage on the glass. Ole Miss also carved out advantages of 18-4 on fastbreak points and 13-3 in second-chance points.
The Rebels never trailed and led for all but 33 seconds. Murray started the game with a 3-pointer, and the Golden Eagles soon trailed 16-2 after Jaemyn Brakefield canned a trey at the 13:13 mark.
Southern Miss was able to find traction behind Harris, who got going for eight straight points in one stretch. He converted a three-point play, hit a 3-pointer and sank a layup to trim the deficit to 23-16 with 7:22 remaining.
The margin was still seven when Murray ended the half by drilling a 3-pointer with six seconds left, allowing Ole Miss to take a 38-28 halftime lead. The Rebels sank 9-of-17 3-point tries in the half, offsetting the Golden Eagles’ 14-2 advantage in points in the paint.
Pedulla assisted on three straight baskets to start the second half as Ole Miss created game-breaking separation with a 12-1 run. Malik Dia’s dunk made it 49-29 with 14:26 left and the Rebels cruised from there.
–Field Level Media
