Ole Miss basketball survives first-half scare, tops Alcorn State in season opener
OXFORD — If Ole Miss basketball expected a nice, simple tune-up against Alcorn State on Monday night in its season opener, it got something entirely different.
The Rebels emerged with a 73-58 victory at the SJB Pavilion, but the outcome was in serious doubt through the early stages of the second half, with Ole Miss finally establishing a double-digit lead with 9:23 remaining.
Ole Miss struggled offensively for much of the night before recovering to a degree in the game's late stages, finishing with a 39% success rate from the field.
Free-throw stripe helps Rebels pull away
When all else failed for the Ole Miss offense, the Rebels got themselves to the free-throw line.
A 14-7 run in the second half's middle stages saw Kermit Davis' team finally establish some distance from Alcorn State. Ten of those points came from the free-throw line.
Five different Rebels shot free throws to help alleviate the pressure, and that was important because the Braves didn't go away — cutting the lead back to single digits with 5:44 remaining before another Ole Miss surge put them away for good.
Junior guard Matthew Murrell paced the Rebels in the second half, scoring 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second frame.
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First-half fright
Ole Miss came out of the first half with a slim 28-27 advantage.
There were a handful of symptoms that led to that outcome — most of them on offense. The Rebels shot only 31% from the field in the half.
The kind of easy buckets at the rim that can alleviate an offensive cold streak eluded Ole Miss, which struggled to penetrate a staunch Alcorn State interior defense. Even when the Rebels found themselves able to get out in transition, the Braves frequently clogged passing lanes to deny Ole Miss clear looks at the rim.
The Rebels got to the free-throw line 10 times but only connected on six of those attempts in the first half — including missing the front end of a one-and-one. They also shot only 4-for-13 from beyond the arc.
Defense locks down
The good news for the Rebels on Monday night was that they stayed engaged on defense despite their difficulties on the other end of the court.
Starting at the 13:40 mark of the first half, Alcorn State went 8:08 without registering a point and 9:54 without a field goal. The Rebels bothered the Braves with their length. Even when the visitors were able to catch the ball in the interior, they struggled to convert over Ole Miss' size and athleticism.
In total, the Braves shot 37% from the field on the night.
Up Next
The Rebels are set to host FAU on Friday for their second game of the season. That game will tip off at 6 p.m. CT and air on SEC Network+.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Ole Miss basketball survives first-half scare, tops Alcorn State
