Matthew Murrell scored 21 points, Daeshun Ruffin added 17 and Ole Miss held off Temple for a 63-55 victory on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
Murrell and Ruffin produced just enough offense for the Rebels (8-3) in a game controlled by the defenses.
Damian Dunn scored 16 points and Khalif Battle added 15 to lead the Owls (6-6), who went more than five minutes without a field goal down the stretch.
The Rebels closed within one point on three occasions early in the second half, but the Owls answered each time. Finally, Murrell’s dunk pulled Ole Miss even at 35.
Jahlil White’s jumper put Temple back on top and the lead changed hands five times before Murrell and Ruffin each had two baskets during an 8-0 run that gave the Rebels a 48-42 lead.
Nick Jourdain’s layup ended the run, but Murrell’s 3-pointer and Myles Burns’ dunk gave Ole Miss an eight-point lead.
The Owls crept within 56-53 with 1:14 left, but Jayveous McKinnis made a free throw, Burns had a layup and Murrell added two free throws to extend the Rebels’ advantage.
Ole Miss, which watched UCF score the first 21 points in a loss Wednesday night, quickly made sure a similar start didn’t happen against the Owls.
McKinnis started the scoring with a putback 24 seconds into the game, but points were hard to come by in the early going.
After taking a 4-2 lead, Ole Miss went nearly six minutes without making a field goal, though Temple was only able to build an 8-4 edge.
The Owls extended the lead to 17-9 before Josh Mbala’s layup ended a 4 1/2-minute field-goal drought for the Rebels. TJ Caldwell added a 3-pointer to help Ole Miss get within two points.
Battle’s 3-pointer ended a scoring drought that lasted just over three minutes for Temple, giving it a 20-15 lead.
Ruffin scored five points to help the Rebels get within a point before Kur Jongkuch beat the buzzer with a layup that gave Temple a 27-24 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
