Murrell Scores 24, No. 25 Mississippi uses early wave to beat No. 14 Kentucky 98-84

Oxford, Miss.-Matthew Murrell scored 24 points and No. 25 Mississippi dominated the first half to beat No. 14 Kentucky 98-84 Tuesday night.

Murrell made six 3-Pointers, four in the first half, when Ole Miss (17-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) never pulled and used races at 10-0 and 15-3 to run for a 54-31 break.

Dre Davis scored 17 points, Malik Dia added 16 points, and Jaylen Murray had 15 points and a season high 10 assists for the rebels. Jaeymn Brakefield had 10 first half points when the rebels ended the night shooting 54.7%.

Amari Williams had a triple double to Kentucky (15-7, 4-5) with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Otega Oweh led Wildcats with 24 points, 19 in the second half, and Jaxson Robinson scored 18 points.

Kentucky shot 50% from the field in general, but only 38.7% (12 of 31) in the first half.

Takeaways

Kentucky: First -year coach Mark Pope’s Wildcats has lost four of five. The schedule seems favorable with three of the next four matches at home. Injured Point Guard Lamont Butler missed his third consecutive match.

Ole Miss: After a handful of close SEC tabs, the rebels broke back with an inspired defensive effort and timely circumference shooting. Ole Miss, 6-4 in road games or in neutral places, play four of his next five games on the road. The rebels ended with a season-low a turnover.

Keying moment

Murrell made three 3-Pointers during the 15-3 race that closed the first half.

Key statistics

The rebels, which were an average of eight 3-pointers per Match, had nine in the first half and ended 13 out of 30. Ole Miss Outscored Kentucky 9-0 OFF revenue and won the turnover margin 8-1.

Up next

Both teams play Saturday. Kentucky hosts South Carolina while Ole Miss visits LSU.