Ole Miss holds off Detroit-Mercy, improves to 3-0 on young season

Ole Miss got two free throws from Allen Flanigan and then a critical stop in the final seconds to defeat Detroit-Mercy, 70-69, Tuesday night at The John and Sandy Black Pavilion.

The Rebels trailed in the final minute of a back and forth affair before Flanigan drew a foul away from the basket and made both ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 25 seconds remaining.

Detroit-Mercy held the ball for a final shot but Marcus Tankersley’s baseline jumper skimmed off the rim at the buzzer.

Ole Miss improved to 3-0. Detroit-Mercy fell to 0-3.

“Obviously we didn’t play our best game,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We’re fortunate to win against a really well-coached team.”

Jaylen Murray led Ole Miss with 22 points. Matthew Murrell added 17. Jayden Stone led Detroit-Mercy with 22 points. Tankersley added 19 and Edoardo Del Cadia chipped in with 16.

Ole Miss led by as many as five points midway through the second half but the Rebels couldn’t put the Titans away. Stone gave Detroit-Mercy a 65-64 lead with 2:51 left. Thirty seconds later, Murrell’s 3-pointer gave Ole Miss a two-point lead. Trenton Johnson hit a 3 for the Titans with 2:01 left, giving the visitors a 68-67 lead.

A free throw from Murray with 1:09 left tied the score and a free throw from Stone gave Detroit-Mercy a 69-68 lead with 33 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Flanigan’s heroics.

Ole Miss shot the ball well, making 45.2 percent of its shots from the field and nine of its 18 attempts from behind the 3-point line. The Rebels were 5-for-6 from the free throw line.

The Titans, meanwhile, were 13-for-18 from the free throw line, 48.1 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the 3-point line. Detroit-Mercy out-rebounded the Rebels, 33-28. Ole Miss, which led by as many as 10 points, committed just eight turnovers while forcing 11.

“We missed all sorts of shots around the basket,” Beard said. “We just have to do a very good job demanding fouls. Victory is going to favor the most aggressive team. Tonight I didn’t think we shot a free throw. …That’s a problem. That right there tells you who was the most aggressive team. They were.”

“For the most part, I feel like we just have to get better at the defensive end,” Murray said.

Ole Miss continues its homestand Friday night at 8 in the first annual Throwback Game at the Rebels’ former home, Tad Smith Coliseum when they play host to Sam Houston State.