In one of the toughest environments for an opposing team to walk in and play the Kentucky Wildcats for 40 minutes is a tough task. On Tuesday night, the Ole Miss Rebels went wire to wire with the No. 1 team in the land, eventually falling to the Wildcats by three points 89-86 in overtime.
Ole Miss (9-5) played their hearts out in the game and were led in scoring by junior Stefan Moody and senior Jarvis Summers with 25 and 23 points respectively.
Coach Andy Kennedy’s squad gave up a quick 12 points to the Big Blue they charged back into the game to take the led. The Rebels were draining buckets from downtown in the game by going 5-for-8 in the first half for a 62.5 precent. In the second half, Ole Miss was 3-for-7 at 42.9 precent and then 50 precent in the overtime period.
Moody ended the evening hitting 5-of-7 attempts from behind the stripe.
Kentucky (14-0) only allows a team to score on average around 47.5 precent. Ole Miss surpassed that by getting second chances with the ball, pulling in a total of 32 boards and finding a way to get to the charity line for free-throws. The Rebels came into the game leading the nation in free-throw percentage at 78.4 a game. Ole Miss ended the night going 19-22 at 86.4 precent, but in regulation they were prefect from the line.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Aaron Harrison who racked up 26 points, including two key free throws in the last minute and a half of overtime to give the Wildcats a three-point cushion and the win.
At the end of the game, Kentucky’s coach John Calipari was asked about his teams performance, and he said it was a good test for his team as they are still learning and this was a wake-up call for a team who has consistently blown opponents out of the gym this season.
Coach Kennedy said how proud he was of his guys as they competed for 40 minutes in the game, which certainly gave Ole Miss a chance to win the game in the end.
Up next for the Rebels is a date with South Carolina at the Tad Pad. Tip off is set for 4 p.m.
Adam Brown is HottyToddy.com sports editor and can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
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