The University of Mississippi Athletics
Doyne Powers Ole Miss Past South Alabama
12/16/2006 | Men's Basketball
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- Bam Doyne was determined to make an impact worthy of his name.
Doyne scored a career-high 28 points for Ole Miss in a 82-72 victory over South Alabama on Saturday in the Coors Classic.
Dwayne Curtis and Clarence Sanders had 16 points apiece for the Rebels (9-2), who led by as many as 20 in the second half.
Doyne had matched his career-high of 25 points Wednesday night in a win over Louisiana-Monroe, topping that on four free throws in the final 45 seconds to keep the Jaguars (5-5) from mounting a threat.
Jermey Parnell added 10 points for Ole Miss.
"I started the game trying to be aggressive," Doyne said. "I turned out to be a lot more open than I thought I would be and just took advantage of it.
"Clarence and Dwayne were doing things to open it up for everybody, especially me tonight."
Ernest Little led South Alabama with 17 points and Demetric Bennett had 16. Daon Merritt had six points and 10 assists.
Curtis had nine rebounds and made 7-of-10 shots, dominating early until South Alabama switched to a zone and managed to largely keep him from getting the ball under the basket.
The Rebels started fast in the second half.
Sanders hit three 3-pointers in the first two minutes and Ole Miss quickly turned an early seven-point lead into a 63-43 cushion.
Then Leandro Buboltz hit two 3s to lead a 13-1 South Alabama run, cutting it down to 64-56 midway through the half. The Jaguars couldn't come any closer.
"We allowed them to get in a real offensive rhythm early," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "It was back and forth. Both teams forgot to guard on the other end.
"We knew they weren't going to go away."
The Jaguars have lost three straight games, all to teams from the SEC Western Division. South Alabama has lost 14 consecutive games against SEC opponents.
"We're not playing well enough to beat a team like that right now," Jaguars coach John Pelphrey said. "Mississippi appears to be playing at a high level and we're just not there yet.
"We got down big several times and kept fighting back. I'm pleased about that."
Doyne and the Rebels came out hot, hitting 12 of their first 14 shots and led by as many as 11 points in the first half.
The Jaguars answered with a 12-2 spurt before Doyne put back two missed shots to help the Rebels maintain a 46-36 halftime lead.
The closest South Alabama came after that was seven points on a 3-pointer to open the second half.