Khadim Sy scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half to lift Ole Miss to a 72-61 victory over Auburn on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference game in Oxford, Miss.
Luis Rodriguez and Romello White each had 12 points for the Rebels (6-3, 1-1 SEC), who have won 13 of the last 17 encounters with the Tigers. Austin Crowley had a team-high 10 rebounds, while Devontae Shuler added 10 assists.
Jaylin Williams highlighted his 24-point performance by making six 3-pointers for the Tigers (6-5, 0-3), who have dropped three in a row. Williams scored 16 points in the first half for Auburn, while no other teammate had more than three.
Justin Powell sat out the contest after sustaining a head injury in the Tigers' 68-66 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Powell entered Wednesday's tilt leading Auburn in rebounds (6.1) and assists (4.7).
Ole Miss extended a slim one-point lead in the first half to a healthy 11-point bulge in just under four minutes. Sy and Jarkel Joiner each drained a 3-pointer, before Rodriguez and KJ Buffen converted on the interior to give the Rebels a 28-17 advantage.
Robert Allen sank a jumper to push the Ole Miss lead to 35-21 with 5:05 to play, and the advantage stayed at 14 at halftime (43-29). Leading at intermission was nothing new for the Rebels, who held the advantage in eight of nine games this season.
Ole Miss kept the pressure on in the second half, with Crowley sandwiching layups around a jumper to push the team's lead to 54-36 with 14:05 to play.
Jamal Johnson sank a trio of 3-pointers and Williams added another as Auburn's 14-6 run trimmed its deficit to eight points with 5:03 remaining in the second half.
Ole Miss collected itself during a timeout, however, with Rodriguez making a 3-pointer and a dunk and Crowley adding a layup to push the team's lead to 67-52 with 4:02 left.
--Field Level Media
Auburn | Mississippi | |
Jaylin Williams 24 | Scoring | Khadim Sy 13 |
Allen Flanigan 5 | Assists | Devontae Shuler 10 |
Allen Flanigan 6 | Rebounds | Austin Crowley 10 |
Jaylin Williams 4 | Free Throws Made | Jarkel Joiner 6 |
Allen Flanigan 2 | Steals | Austin Crowley 4 |
Babatunde Akingbola 1 | Blocks | Robert Allen 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Auburn | 61 | 36.1 | 10-30 | 7-9 | 13 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
Mississippi | 72 | 45.8 | 7-23 | 11-13 | 17 | 33 | 5 | 11 | 11 |