The University of Mississippi Athletics
New-Look Offense Piles Up Points in Rebels' First Exhibition
11/3/2006 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. Five Ole Miss players scored in double-figures as Andy Kennedy's first exhibition as Rebel coach provided plenty of points in a 108-103 preseason victory over North Alabama.
Senior Bam Doyne scored 21 points to lead Ole Miss while sophomore Trey Hampton added 19 and accounted for the first six points of the contest for the Rebels. Clarence Sanders connected on 4-of-4 3-point field goals in dropping in 14 on the night.
Ole Miss opened the game with a 14-1 run and led by as much as 20, but the Lions would use three 3-pointers from Quinn Beckwith to narrow the advantage to three and a 54-49 deficit at the break.
Although Ole Miss never trailed in the game, UNA would keep it close throughout the second half, as the clubs combined for 108 points in the period. The Rebels shot 55.6 percent for the game, forced 21 turnovers and outrebounded the Lions 44-39.
"We have a lot of work to do," said Kennedy. "Not having some of our frontline guys, we had to play some guys out of position. So this wasn't surprising. We played fairly close.
"I think we made a statement early, jumping out to an early lead. We changed some things up after that. I may have did some things that were not in the best interest of the team, but I'm still learning about these guys."
The Rebels have reached the 100-point plateau only twice over the last seven seasons.
Ole Miss hosts its second exhibition Monday, as Delta State comes to Tad Smith Coliseum for a 7 p.m. contest. The Rebels' regular season begins next Friday against Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m.
