Jaylen Murray scored 16 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 15, including two free throws with seven seconds to play, as Ole Miss outlasted Texas A&M 71-68 on Saturday in a Southeastern Conference matchup in College Station, Texas.
The game was tied at 51, but the Aggies then reeled off a 9-2 run capped by Wade Taylor IV’s driving layup with 3:39 to play. Ole Miss then fashioned a 7-0 spurt and tied the game at 60 on Brakefield’s putback with 2:02 left.
The Rebels (17-3, 4-3 SEC) grabbed the lead on Matthew Murrell’s jumper with 1:24 remaining, but Texas A&M answered with a pair of free throws by Tyrece Radford with 46 seconds to play. Murray then calmly poured in a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left to put Ole Miss up 65-62.
Radford went 1-for-2 from the foul line four seconds later, then the Rebels’ Allen Flanigan hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play. Taylor quickly rang up a 3-pointer to pare the Aggies’ deficit to a point.
After a timeout, Brakefield hit his free throws with seven seconds remaining, and Ole Miss hung on.
Flanigan finished with 11 points for the Rebels, who won their second straight game.
Taylor led all scorers with 30 points while Radford added 13 and Jace Carter grabbed 12 rebounds for Texas A&M (12-8, 3-4), which had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The Aggies led from the jump, scoring the game’s first four points before leading 18-12 after an alley-oop dunk by Henry Coleman III at the 9:54 mark of the first half.
A layup by Radford with 3:13 to play in the period pushed the hosts’ advantage to nine points at 27-18.
However, the Rebels then kicked their offense into gear, getting two treys from Murray and one from Murrell as part of a half-closing 13-2 run that provided Ole Miss with a 31-29 edge at the break.
–Field Level Media
