OXFORD — A season in the Southeastern Conference will bring its fair share of adversity.

Ole Miss got another prep session in handling adversity Friday night against Eastern Washington at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.

The Eagles led Ole Miss midway through the second half before the Rebels got rolling en route to a 75-64 win.

“I think we do have some poise,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said, referencing Monday's 10-point, opening-night win over Alabama State. “Back to back games where we found ourselves in tough games. I hope this pays dividends as the season goes on. From a coaching standpoint, you’d like to come out here and get you a game that’s easier, but I think anytime you win close games like we did the first two games this season, I hope it pays dividends.”

Ole Miss improved to 2-0. Eastern Washington fell to 0-2.

Allen Flanigan eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career, putting up a game-high and career-high 27 points. Flanigan was terrific all night, scoring nine first-half points before taking the game over in the final 10 minutes. The Auburn transfer added five rebounds.

“We ask a lot of Al,” Beard said. “Tonight, he answered the bell in a lot of ways. I thought he was aggressive. I thought he got banged around in the first half but he’s so strong and physical. He’s a hard guy for those officials to call those fouls. I thought in the second half, he did a really good job demanding the foul.”

Flanigan was 11-for-22 from the floor and made seven of his eight free throws.

However, it was a freshman, Rashaud Marshall, who ignited Ole Miss’ second-half run.

Trailing 51-50, Marshall’s layup with 10:12 left gave the Rebels a 52-51 lead. A turnover on Eastern Washington’s next trip led to a Marshall dunk and a three-point Ole Miss lead with 9:51 left. The Rebels never looked back, pushing the advantage to double digits in the next five minutes and putting the game out of reach. Marshall finished with nine points.

“Just don’t panic and come down and take our time with the ball,” Marshall said.

Jaylen Murray, the Rebels’ starting point guard, said Marshall was the difference.

“Big time for the young one today,” Murray said.

Beard had high praise for Marshall, saying the Arkansas native earned the right to play more.

“There will be lot of ups and downs for young players in college basketball,” Beard said. “Tonight was an up. He’s just got to continue to fight. …I was super proud of him tonight.”

Matthew Murrell, who has been a “little big banged up this week,” Beard said, added 12 points for Ole Miss.

Cedric Coward led Eastern Washington with 16 points. Jake Kyman and Casey Jones added 10 apiece.

Ole Miss shot 40.6 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line. The Rebels forced 17 turnovers and only committed eight. Eastern Washington won the rebounding battle, 38-29, something Beard said was going to be a point of emphasis next week.

“We’re a work in progress,” Beard said, adding that the Rebels are still “games and weeks away from settling into a rotation.”

Ole Miss led at the half, 34-32, thanks primarily to forcing the Eagles to nine first-half turnovers and limiting them to 20 percent from behind the 3-point line.

The Rebels return to action with another home game Tuesday against Detroit Mercy. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Notes: Freshman Jacob Gazzo is away from the team due to an illness “for a short amount of time,” Beard said.