Men’s Basketball defeats Florida Atlantic, 80-67

Published 2:44 pm Saturday, November 12, 2022

Scoring came from all across the Rebel lineup, as four double-digit scorers helped power Ole Miss men’s basketball to an 80-67 non-conference win over Florida Atlantic at SJB Pavilion on Friday night.

The Rebels (2-0) shot the ball from just about anywhere, as a team field goal percentage of 50.8 percent fueled Ole Miss past the Owls (1-1) for the team’s second straight win of the new season.

Jaemyn Brakefield led the charge for the Rebels, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 on the night from the floor to log a team-high 17 points along with leading the team with eight boards – which ties his career high. The junior forward was one of four Rebels to end as a double-digit scorer alongside junior Matthew Murrell (10 points, career-high seven assists, two steals), senior Robert Allen (10 points, four rebounds) and senior Josh Mballa (10 points, three rebounds, one steal).

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“Just a good win against a good team,” said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis. “I was in that league for a long time, and that team’s going to have a good chance to win that conference championship. They’re well-coached, played hard and I thought their big fella (Vladislav Goldin) played really well tonight and their guards around him played good too. Florida Atlantic is a hard team to guard, so tonight was a good win. Now we move forward and see if we can get better and get ready for an NCAA Tournament team from last year in Chattanooga.”

The opening frame saw Brakefield carry the scoring load for the Rebels, finishing the half with 10 of his 17 total points on a 3-for-3 line with a pair from behind the arc.

A 12-0 scoring run midway through the half helped the Rebels continue to push the tempo against the Owls, as Ole Miss went on to finish the half at 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. With the wind at their backs, the Rebels took a 39-30 lead into the halftime locker room.

Ole Miss kept its foot on the gas in the second half behind a well-rounded team scoring performance, as four different Rebels put up six or more points in the final 20 minutes of play.

While Florida Atlantic was able to close the gap to as little as six with 4:18 left to play, Myles Burns (six points, five rebounds) and the Ole Miss defense showed out to help stonewall the Owls en route to a homecourt victory, with Burns logging four steals and a block on the night.

A stout defensive stand for the Rebels down the stretch proved crucial, with Ole Miss closing out the night with a 6-0 run to put an exclamation point on the team’s 80-67 win over the Owls.

The Rebels will continue their season-opening homestand with a matchup against returning NCAA Tournament squad Chattanooga next Tuesday (Nov. 15). Tipoff against the Mocs is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.