A strong second-half performance by the Ole Miss Rebels propelled them to a 77-72 victory over the Georgia State Panthers on Friday night inside the Pavilion.
Ole Miss (3-0) rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to remain unblemished on the young season. The Rebels went on a 10-0 run to open up the second half and take the momentum away from the Panthers.
“We got it up by six or seven, and they responded, so we went back to that 2-3 zone just to try to keep them in front of us,” Ole Miss Head Coach Andy Kennedy said in the post-game press conference.
Terence Davis was the spark for the Rebels as he led the team with 24 points. He was also clutch from behind the arc with five three-pointers on the night. His teammate Markel Crawford was the only other player to reach double figures in scoring with 15 points.
The Panthers followed their forward, D’Marcus Simonds, throughout the game as he drained a total of 29 points and five assists.
“Simonds is a heck of a player, who was just in complete control of the game early,” Kennedy said.
Georgia State’s Jeff Thomas and Devin Mitchell added 14 and 11 points respectively against the Rebels.
Ole Miss was outshot in the game and faced a disruptive 1-3-1 defense. The Panthers shot 45.3 percent from the field, while the Rebels only hit 44.2 percent.
The Rebels return to action on Monday night as they face Utah in Las Vegas.
“We try to challenge ourselves because Utah and Rice in Las Vegas are going to be a whole other ball game, so we have to be ready for that,” Kennedy said.
By Adam Brown Sports Editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
