For the better part of the first half, Ole Miss had No. 25 Arkansas right where it wanted.

Then Arkansas got a pair of 3-pointers from freshman guard Joseph Pinion.

Those treys gave the Razorbacks a little momentum heading into halftime, and once the Hogs came out for the second half, they took it to the Rebels, built a double-digit lead and then held on for a 69-57 win.

With the win, Arkansas improved to 13-6 overall and 2-5 in the Southeastern Conference. Ole Miss, meanwhile, fell to 9-10 overall and 1-6 in the league.

"Our guard play was not great today," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. "You can't give Arkansas some live-ball turnovers. We competed hard enough in the first little bit but the second half, we couldn't get anything going offensively. You have to expect Arkansas is going to score some points a little bit and we couldn't match scores or get any kind of rhythm offensively. ...Too many turnovers and not enough poise on the road."

The Rebels' loss was potentially compounded due to a second-half injury suffered by guard Matthew Murrell. The junior was driving towards the basket when Arkansas guard Davonte Davis appeared to inadvertently stop on the back of Murrell's foot. Murrell went down in immediate and obvious pain. He was eventually helped to the Ole Miss bench. Ice was applied to his right knee and he did not return.

Davis said Murrell will be evaluated when the team returns to Oxford and more will be known regarding the extent of the injury Sunday afternoon.

Davis said Ole Miss medical personal feel better that the injury came after being stepped on and it wasn't the result of the way Murrell planted his foot.

Murrell scored just three points in 24 minutes. Throw in the absence of TJ Caldwell, who didn't play after arriving late for a workout, and the Rebels had a difficult time generating offense. Jayveous McKinnis and Daeshun Ruffin led Ole Miss with 10 points each. Myles Burns had eight points and seven rebounds and Jaemyn Brakefield added eight points as well.

"Daeshun got going a little bit in the second half and that helped," Davis said. "Even before Matt got hurt, we still didn't have a great rhythm."

Ruffin said it was tough to see Murrell go down, adding he just tried to be a leader in that moment. He said he hadn't talked to Murrell after the game but said his teammate appeared to be in good spirits.

"Matt is a very positive guy no matter what's going on," Ruffin said. "He is one of the leaders on this team. To see him go down like that and to see his attitude remain the same and him coming back to the huddle and cheering us on, that let us know he really cares for us. ...I feel like he's in a good space right now mentally. I'm praying for him and hopefully he'll be OK."

Arkansas' talented backcourt played well Saturday. Freshman Anthony Black, a likely NBA lottery pick this summer, had 17 points, three rebounds and eight assists. Another highly-regarded freshman, Jordan Walsh, had 13 points and seven rebounds. Davis had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

However, it was freshman reserve Joseph Pinion who gave the Razorbacks a real lift. Pinion hit two 3-pointers late in the first half to send Arkansas to the locker room ahead, 32-29. Pinion added another 3-pointer in the second half and finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

"We were firing the ball-screens and it was really, really effective," Davis said. "One time Tye Fagan came off him and shouldn't have. The second time, they made a good play. We were in rotations after a fire and the big fella who is not great skilled made a great play into the corner. We dove in to protect the rim and it was just a good play. It was like in football where you may have blitzed and the guy picked it up and got him.

"But I thought (Pinion) coming in and catching and shooting it kind of flipped the game a little bit."

Arkansas was 8-for-20 from the 3-point line. Davis said the Rebels wanted the Razorbacks to shoot from the perimeter, so he was more displeased with his team allowing second-half dribble-penetration. Arkansas won points in the paint, 36-28.

However, it was turnovers that killed Ole Miss. The Rebels committed 17, six more than Arkansas, and the Hogs made them pay. Arkansas won points off turnovers, 15-6.

"We had some plays and unforced turnovers that we shouldn't have had and they converted," Davis said. "Our guards are better than they played today."

Ole Miss returns home Tuesday night at 6 to face Missouri. The Tigers are 14-4 overall and 3-3 in the SEC entering tonight's home game against Alabama.