Hot-shooting Jaylen Murray scored 24 points and No. 24 Ole Miss cruised past Long Island University 90-60 in the season opener for both teams Monday night in Oxford, Miss.
Murray made 7 of 10 field-goal attempts, 5 of 8 3-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws. Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 points and Matthew Murrell and Seton Hall transfer Dre Davis had 11 each for the Rebels, who were 20-12 last season and were picked No. 9 in the SEC preseason media poll.
Malachi Davis, a transfer from Arizona State who was selected to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference team, and Brent Davis each scored 19 points to lead the Sharks, who were 7-22 last season and picked fifth in the NEC preseason poll.
The two Davises combined to shoot 12 of 27 from the floor, but their teammates shot a combined 8 of 31.
Ole Miss made 25 of 32 free throws and LIU made 15 of 24. The Rebels had a 32-14 advantage in bench scoring and trailed for just 71 seconds during the game.
Brent Davis made a 3-pointer and two of three free throws to start the second half and pull the Sharks within 44-32.
Belmont transfer Malik Dia, Dre Davis and Sam Houston transfer Davon Barnes made consecutive layups for Ole Miss to push the lead to 18 points.
Brent Davis scored five points to help LIU get within 14, but Murray made a 3-pointer during an 11-2 run that put Ole Miss in command with a 64-41 lead.
Neither team scored until Malachi Davis made a jumper 3:15 into the game. The lead changed hands twice and the score was tied three times before Virginia Tech transfer Sean Pedulla’s 3-pointer started a 10-0 run that gave the Rebels a 20-10 lead.
Brakefield made one 3-pointer and Murray made three, the last of which came with four seconds left and increased the lead to 44-27 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
