The Ole Miss men's basketball team found itself in a defensive dogfight against a disciplined Boise State team, which used a 22-6 second-half run to pull away toward a 60-50 victory on Sunday, closing out the Rebels' stay at the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic.
Ole Miss (3-2) shot 36.8 percent from the floor overall, but a stout Rebel defensive effort in the first half held the Broncos (3-2) to a Rebel opponent season-low 21 points and 1-of-6 clip from three. Boise State's offense awoke in the second half, though, shooting 56 percent overall as foul trouble reared its head for the Rebels despite them forcing 17 Bronco turnovers that led to an Ole Miss season-high 17 points.
Jarkel Joiner led the way with 10 points while Jaemyn Brakefield and Robert Allen each had eight. Nysier Brooks led Ole Miss with six rebounds while Tye Fagan had four assists.
Both defenses were in command early, forcing each other to shoot a combined 4-of-17 at the start of the game. Ole Miss held an early 5-4 advantage after a Joiner midrange jumper, and then after a drought the Rebels went on a 6-0 run gave them an 11-4 lead with 11:48 remaining in the first half.
Boise State ended a 5:16 scoring drought with a three-point basket by Emmanuel Akot while four straight points from Mladen Armus later cut the Bronco deficit down to 13-11 and forced Ole Miss to call a timeout with 7:35 left in the half. For the remainder of the half, the Rebels got out to as much as a nine-point lead, but an and-one by Akot made it a 27-21 Ole Miss lead going into the locker room.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams went back and forth before the Broncos used a 6-0 run to make a two-point game just over four minutes into the second half. The Rebels entered the media timeout on a near three-minute cold spell, which was eventually snapped by a Joiner three-pointer following a Boise turnover. However, a three-pointer by Abu Kigab with just over 13 minutes left in the second half tied the game at 34.
The Ole Miss defense made an energetic last stand, as it soon began to create problems with a couple of steals and fastbreak dunks, eventually gaining a 44-38 lead nearing the halfway point of the second half. However, Boise State responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 46 apiece with 7:34 left to play. Tyson Degenhart gave the Broncos their first lead of the game after an Ole Miss timeout and later extended their newfound lead to five with just over five minutes left to play. Brooks fouled out with 4:08 remaining and his team down by three, and free throws later gave the Broncos a 56-50 lead with 4:03 left to play – a lead the Broncos would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
The Rebels return to SJB Pavilion to face Mississippi Valley State on Friday (November 26). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and can be seen on SEC Network+ or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
