Ole Miss men’s basketball needed a win in the worst way.
The Rebels traveled to Biloxi to face Southern Miss with a four-game losing streak by a combined 20 points and a coach showing visible signs of frustration at press conferences.
In fact, it got so bad at one point that Ole Miss coach Chris Beard, reportedly, took away the locker room and its amenities.
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But the longest losing streak for Ole Miss under Beard came to an end Saturday in a 71-67 win against Southern Miss.
While a win is a win, this one was a lot closer than Beard and the Rebels would’ve preferred.
Neither team had a lead larger than 10 points and the Golden Eagles led by five points midway through the second half. The Rebels would go on a 6-1 run to close the gap and took the lead for good on a Kezza Giffa layup with 10:19 left in the game.
AJ Storr led Ole Miss in scoring with 21 points, making 8-of-12 field goals and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Three other Rebels had 10 or more points, including Giffa with 13, Patton Pinkins with 12 and Malik Dia with 11. Dia led the Rebels in rebounds with six.
Rebounding was one area that Southern Miss outperformed the Rebels, 33-28, with the difference being with offensive rebounds (9-4).
But it most other areas, Ole Miss was the better team. The Rebels had fewer turnovers, had a higher shooting percentage from the field and beyond the three-point line, and had more trips to the free throw line (26-20).
The Rebels’ bench also outscored the Golden Eagles’ bench 29-3.
Next Up
Ole Miss will return to action this week for its annual trip to Tupelo. The Rebels will face Alabama A&M with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on SECN+.
