Senior guard Terence Davis scored 20 points and junior guard Breein Tyree added 14 points and four steals as Mississippi extended its winning streak to seven games with an 87-57 nonconference victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.
The victory gave Ole Miss (10-2), just its third undefeated December since 1950.
RaySean Scott Jr. scored 18 points for FGCU (5-10), which dropped consecutive games to SEC opponents after falling 77-56 to Florida on Dec. 22.
Ole Miss, which entered ninth in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.6 percent, was 31-of-60 from the field (51.7 percent).
Davis, who was playing in his 100th career game for the Rebels was 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Tyree went 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, including his 100th 3-pointer for Ole Miss.
The Eagles struggled for offense without senior and leading scorer Haanif Cheatham, who was lost for the season in early December with a shoulder injury. Senior guard Schadrac Casimir, the only active FGCU averaging double digits in scoring, was held to two points on 1-of-4 shooting in 22 minutes.
The Eagles shot just 21-of-52 (40.4 percent) from the field and committed 19 turnovers, while Ole Miss had a 11-2 advantage in steals.
Sophomore guard Devontae Shuler, freshman forward Blake Hinson and senior forward Bruce Stevens all scored 11 points for Ole Miss, which held a 37-28 advantage in rebounds.
The Rebels took a 10-point lead midway through the first half at 19-9, with the Eagles cutting the deficit to single digits just twice, the last time at 29-20 with 4:52 remaining in the first half. The Rebels closed out the first half on a 15-6 run to take a 44-26 lead into the break.
Ole Miss was 15-of-30 from the field in the first half and 9-of-12 from 3-point range, while taking a 44-26 lead into the break. The Rebels held an 11-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
Ole Miss will next open SEC play on Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt. FGCU will open Atlantic Sun Conference play on Jan. 5 at home against Liberty.
--Field Level Media
Florida Gulf Coast | Mississippi | |
RaySean Scott Jr. 18 | Scoring | Terence Davis 20 |
Decardo Day 7 | Assists | Breein Tyree 6 |
RaySean Scott Jr. 9 | Rebounds | Terence Davis 6 |
Decardo Day 4 | Free Throws Made | Blake Hinson 4 |
Schadrac Casimir 1 | Steals | Breein Tyree 4 |
Troy Baxter Jr. 2 | Blocks | KJ Buffen 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Florida Gulf Coast | 57 | 40.4 | 6-16 | 9-12 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
Mississippi | 87 | 51.7 | 12-25 | 13-18 | 22 | 34 | 5 | 11 | 11 |