By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
The Ole Miss Rebels battled back from a 15-point deficit in the second half of their game against the Georgia Bulldogs, coming just short of a win with a score of 78-74 inside the Pavilion.
“Give Tom [Greene] and Georgia all the credit,” Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said. “They hit some tough shots, that kind of got them going.”
Ole Miss (6-6, 1-4 SEC) was led on the court by senior Devontae Shuler with 24 points and junior Jarkel Joiner with 22 points.
“[Jarkel] played more downhill and confident shooting the ball throughout the whole game,” Davis said. “He had a great couple of days of practice, got here in the gym about 5:15 a.m. working. His heart is always in the right place.”
Joiner found his rhythm after halftime as he knocked down 14 of his 22 game points in the second half.
“Coach and the coaching staff, along with my teammates, had confidence in me,” Joiner said. “They told me ‘just keep shooting the ball’… I just never got down on myself, just kept shooting and kept playing the game.”
Georgia was led by junior Tye Fagan with 19 points as point guard Sahvir Wheeler added 18 of his own against the Rebels.
“They just popped us and we could not stop the dribble, could not guard around the goal,” Davis said.
The Bulldogs hit at a 59% mark from the field, got to the free-throw stripe 17 times and hit 15 of them at 88%. Ole Miss went 7-of-22 from the line on the afternoon and 51% from the field.
Ole Miss travels to the Hump on Tuesday to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
