Fresh off their first loss of the season, the Ole Miss Rebels bounced back to defeat the Elon Phoenix 74-56 Friday at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.
The Rebels (3-1), who fell 78-72 to undefeated Marquette in their tournament opener on Thursday, built a 37-21 halftime lead against Elon and never looked back.
Jaemyn Brakefield scored 16 points for the Rebels, going 4-for-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Jarkel Joiner added 16 points, and Robert Allen grabbed eight rebounds as the Rebels won on the boards 42-30 and shot 49.1 percent from the field.
The Phoenix (2-3) were led by Darius Burford, who tallied 16 points and four assists; Zac Ervin, who scored 13 points; and Jerald Gillens-Butler, who scored 12 points off the bench. Elon was held to just 34.6 percent shooting from the field.
Ole Miss got off to a blistering start, surging out to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:37. Five different players scored to kick off the game for the Rebels, with the run capped by a three-point bucket from Luis Rodriguez.
From there, the rest of the contest was an exercise in the Rebels trying to keep Elon at arm’s length.
Elon got as close as 17-14 with 10:23 left in the first half. however, the Phoenix went scoreless over a 4:50 period late in the half, allowing the Rebels to once again add to their lead.
Rodriguez gave the Rebels their biggest advantage of the half, 37-19, on a second-chance make in the paint in the final minute. The Rebels went into the break up by 16.
The second half was much the same story, as the Rebels extended their lead to 21 on a 3-pointer from Brakefield with 9:38 to play.
The Rebels advance to play Boise State on Sunday in the tournament’s fith-place game. Elon will face Temple in the seventh-place game.
–Field Level Media
