OXFORD — No. 23 Ole Miss dominated the second half Saturday night, blowing open a six-point halftime advantage and making easy work of Lindenwood, 86-53.
Ole Miss won the second half, 47-20, dominating Lindenwood in the paint, 38-18.
Ole Miss improved to 8-1. Lindenwood fell to 3-6.
The Rebels were led by Sean Pedullla, who scored a game-high 19 points. Pedulla, a Virginia Tech transfer, added six rebounds and three assists. Mikeal Brown-Jones had 14 points and two rebounds. Dre Davis had 12 points and six rebounds and Davon Barnes had 11 points.
Reggie Bass led Lindenwood with 10 points.
Brown-Jones, Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said, was “the difference in the game in the low post.”
Ole Miss, featuring a “diverse offense,” in Beard’s words, shot 52 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the 3-point line. As they have all season, the Rebels protected the basketball, turning it over just seven times. Meanwhile, Lindenwood shot 35 percent from the floor, 29 percent from the 3-point line and committed 15 turnovers.
“Paint touches changed the game,” said Ole Miss forward Javon Benson, who scored seven points and had four rebounds off the bench.
“We went inside in the second half,” Beard said. “I thought it was the right decision.”
Ole Miss shot just two first half free throws. The Rebels went to the line 20 times in the final 20 minutes.
“If you want to get to the free throw line, you demand the foul,” Beard said. “I thought we did a better job of that in the second half.”
Ole Miss barely won the battle of the boards, 37-35, and lost on second-chance points, 16-13. Lindenwood led by as many as four points in the first half.
Ole Miss returns to action next Saturday in Biloxi versus Southern Miss. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
“We’re going in the right direction,” Beard said.
Notes: Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell didn’t play Saturday as he continued to nurse a knee injury that’s been bothering him since Thanksgiving.
“He’s a little banged-up right now,” Beard said. “He’s day-to-day. We expect Matt to be back soon.”
