Ole Miss breaks through on the road, wins at Texas A&M
Ole Miss finally got the breakthrough win it desperately needed.
The Rebels, who have won their first three Southeastern Conference home games but lost their first three league road games, picked up their first league win away from Oxford Saturday night, beating Texas A&M, 71-68.
It was Ole Miss’ first win at Texas A&M. The Rebels had lost in their first six trips to College Station.
Ole Miss improved to 17-3 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Texas A&M fell to 12-8 overall and 3-4 in the league.
Jaemyn Brakefield’s outback with 2:01 left tied the game at 60-60. After an Texas A&M turnover, Matthew Murrell’s jumper with 1:23 left gave the Rebels a 62-60 lead. Tyrece Radford made a pair of free throws with 46.3 seconds left to tie the game at 62-62.
Then Jaylen Murray made the shot of the game, knocking down a deep 3-pointer with 21.5 seconds left to give the Rebels a 65-62 lead.
“My first instinct was trying to get to the rim,” Murray said. “We were in the bonus so I was trying to get a layup, but as I came down, I saw how the defense was backed up. I had been listening to my coach the whole game. He kept telling me to keep taking your shots. ‘Don’t worry about any shot that’s open. Just keep taking your shots.’ I believe in my coach. My coach believes in me and that gave me the confidence to take that shot.”
Radford was fouled on the Aggies’ next possession and made one of two free throws to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 65-63.
Allen Flanigan made both free throws with 14.9 seconds left to push the Rebels’ lead back to three.
A 3-pointer from Taylor with 10 seconds left pulled the Aggies to within 67-66, but Ole Miss answered at the free throw line. Brakefield made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to push the Rebels’ lead to 69-66,
After Taylor made two free throws for Texas A&M to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 69-68, Matthew Murrell made two with 5.4 seconds left to extend the Rebels’ lead back to three points.
The Aggies’ final possession was fruitless, giving Ole Miss a huge road win.
Murray led Ole Miss with 16 points. Brakefield added 15 and Flanigan chipped in with 11.
Taylor led the Aggies with 30 points. Radford added 13.
“He’s a tough guard,” Murray said of Taylor. “He can get 40 at any time. Our game plan was to make him pass the ball, make somebody else make plays, but he still did what he does.”
Ole Miss shot 42 percent from the floor and 42 percent from the 3-point line while holding Texas A&M to 40 percent from the floor and 30 percent from behind the arc. The Rebels were out-rebounded, 42-34 and lost points in the paint, 34-24. Ole Miss committed 11 turnovers and forced 10. The Rebels blocked five shots, four more than Texas A&M.
Ole Miss returns home this week for two games — Tuesday versus Mississippi State and Saturday versus Auburn.