OXFORD — Ole Miss knew South Alabama would throw a zone defense at it Tuesday night.
To beat the zone, a team has to have a balance of shot-making from the 3-point line and inside presence.
The 25th-ranked Rebels had just enough of both against the Jaguars, winning 64-54 in the second annual Throwback Game at Tad Smith Coliseum.
Ole Miss shot just 33 percent from the floor and 34 percent from behind the 3-point line, but the Rebels won the rebounding battle, 42-39, to improve to 3-0 on the season.
South Alabama fell to 1-2.
“This was a night where we had to make some 3s to win the game and we made just enough,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said.
Sean Pedulla had his best game in an Ole Miss uniform, scoring 27 points. The Virginia Tech transfer was 7-for-16 from the 3-point line. He also added four rebounds and a pair of assists.
“Going into the night, we knew it would make our job easier if I could get a few shots to drop from outside,” Pedulla said. “I like the gym a lot. It was a cool throwback environment.”
Jaemyn Brakefield added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Rebels were 13-for-38 from deep and were outscored in the paint, 20-14.
“I think we kind of fell in love with taking perimeter shots too much,” Pedulla said. “The zone kind of does that to you. It’s one of the reasons people play in that zone. It kind of makes you take shots from way outside and takes away your paint presence. I think we went through that seven-minute span (in the second half) where we were kind of falling in love with the 3-ball and they weren’t dropping and we weren’t enforcing the paint as much as we should’ve.”
Ole Miss led by 12 points at halftime and saw that lead dwindle to four in the second half before finishing strong, getting 3-pointers from JuJu Murray, Brakefield and Pedulla to put the Jaguars away.
“I was trying to get the guys to understand can we try to get something better because we can always come back to that,” Beard said. “How do you win the game? We out-rebounded our opponent. (Malik) Dia had a special night on the glass (13 rebounds). Sean had a special night scoring the ball. I thought JuJu was really good down the stretch. …We found ways to get a victory.
“If we make 40, 42 percent of our 3s, it’s probably a different tone. It’s just trying to find that balance — when to shoot that open 3 versus when to try to get something better. If you’re going to play against a zone-type team in the NCAA Tournament, you’ve got to get to the free throw line, so there were a lot of learning lessons tonight. In the first half, we were getting decent shots but we had no balance of inside play.”
Judah Brown led South Alabama with 16 points. Myles Corey added 14.
Ole Miss meets Colorado State in Southaven, Miss., on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“We just have to get better,” Beard said. “There’s no better way to say it than we’re a work in progress.”
Notes:
— Senior guard Matthew Murrell didn’t play Tuesday. Beard said Murrell got “banged up” in Friday’s win over Grambling and “worked tirelessly” to try to play versus South Alabama. Beard said he’s hopeful Murrell plays Saturday.
— Davon Barnes filled in for Murrell Tuesday and scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds in 34 minutes.
“Barnes is a good player,” Beard said. “He has positional size. He’s a big guard. We ask a lot of him. It didn’t surprise me at all. His role is going to increase with performance and being productive. He was definitely ready tonight. He made some big plays.”
— Eduardo Klafke had two assists and a steal in eight minutes Tuesday, and the freshman seems to be turning heads on the coaching staff.
“He’s energetic,” Beard said. “He plays really hard. He’s focused. He prepares during the week for his role. He’s going to be a special player, in my opinion. He’s a young freshman on a veteran team and he’s earned the opportunity that he’s getting. We trust him.”
