Defense and Davis Trio Lift Rebels to 90-64 Win over Western Michigan

OXFORD, Miss. – Converting 24 turnovers into 39 points, a scrappy defense lifted the Ole Miss men's basketball team to a 90-64 victory over Western Michigan in the 2018-19 season opener Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion. Four Rebels recorded double figures, including a combined 29 from seniors D.C. Davis and Terence Davis, as Ole Miss (1-0) won its first game under new head coach Kermit Davis.

While the Rebels put up 90 points, the story of the game was the team's tenacious defense. Ole Miss registered 15 steals throughout the contest, the most in a game in six seasons. Western Michigan (1-1) turned the ball over in eight of its first nine possessions, and the Rebels took advantage to jump out to a 20-4 lead that they would never surrender.

Terence Davis led all scorers with 17 points, all coming in a first half in which the senior guard was 7 of 9 from the floor. Breein Tyree followed with 14 points, while Devontae Shuler tallied 11 of his 13 points over the final 20 minutes.

Off the bench, D.C. Davis provided a spark with 12 points with a perfect shooting display. The Purvis, Mississippi, native went 4 of 4 from the field, 2 of 2 from beyond the arc and also made both of his free throw attempts. On the defensive side of the ball, he tied a team high with three steals.

Ole Miss boasted a 54.1 field goal percentage (33 of 61), tying its best ever in the three-year history of The Pavilion. The Rebels dominated the paint 38-18, while also holding a 12-0 advantage in fastbreak points.

For Western Michigan, Jared Printy scored a team-high 17 points, while Josh Davis and Seth Dugan reached double figures as well.

Just like the exhibition, the Rebels used their defense to stretch out to a big lead early in the contest, starting with a steal and dunk by Terence Davis for the first bucket of the Kermit Davis era. Ole Miss forced turnovers on eight of the Broncos' first nine possessions, including another steal at midcourt by center Dominik Olejniczak. Swiping the ball, the seven-footer drove all the way to the hoop for a thunderous dunk that brought the crowd to their feet. Following the slam, Blake Hinson drilled back-to-back threes to boost the Ole Miss lead to double digits, 12-2. WMU made a jumper to get the deficit to eight, but the Rebels countered with an 8-0 run to build a 20-4 advantage with 13:13 to go in the first half.

The stifling defense continued as Ole Miss scored 24 of its first 27 points off Western Michigan turnovers. Fourteen of those points came from Terence Davis, making 6 of 8 shots through the first 10 minutes of the contest. Checking into the ballgame, D.C. Davis made his presence known immediately with eight points in 61 seasons, pushing the Rebels ahead 30-8.

Ole Miss shot 53.3 percent (16 of 30) in the first half. Combined with 17 points from Terence Davis and forcing 17 turnovers, including 11 steals, the Rebels took a 43-22 lead into the locker room. Ole Miss limited Dugan, who tallied 32 points and 22 rebounds in the Broncos' season-opening win Tuesday night. Despite playing 15 minutes, the center managed just two points and three rebounds.

The Broncos began the second half with some momentum, using a 9-1 run to slice the Ole Miss cushion to 12. However, the next seven points went on the Rebels' side of the court. Tyree hit an elbow jumper for the Rebels' first bucket of the second half before Shuler drilled a three from the top of the key. Jumping a pass on the wing, D.C. Davis came up with a steal before gliding down the lane for an easy deuce. Just like that, Ole Miss was back out in front 51-32.

Ole Miss kept Western Michigan without a made field goal for nearly five minutes. A 12-3 scoring run, capped off by a corner three from Shuler, forced the Broncos to call a timeout facing their largest deficit and trailing 63-35 with 12:35 left in the game.

Throughout the rest of the game, the Rebels kept the game out of arm's reach. The closest the Broncos got was a 20-point differential. Shuler and Tyree combined for 20 of the Rebels' 47 second half points to send Ole Miss into cruise control. Once the final horn sounded and Kermit Davis joined his team in the locker room, the new head coach was awarded the game ball to send the Rebels into exuberance.

Up next, the Rebels head north for their first road game of the season. Ole Miss treks to Indianapolis, Indiana to battle the Butler Bulldogs (Nov. 16), who received votes in both preseason polls. The Friday night matchup begins at 7 p.m. CT on FS2. As always, the game can be heard on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

For the latest news and updates regarding Ole Miss Men's Basketball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMBB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Basketball and on Instagram at olemissmbb.

TIP-INS

Ole Miss won its season opener for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons.
The Rebels were victorious in their first official game under Kermit Davis.
Ole Miss flipped 24 WMU turnovers into 39 points, the most turnovers forced by the Rebels since Nov. 28, 2015 vs. Bradley (25).
The 15 steals were the most by Ole Miss since recording 20 versus Lipscomb six years ago (Nov. 23, 2012).
Ole Miss shot 54.1 percent (33 of 61) from the field, tying its best ever in The Pavilion and the best in a game since hosting LSU during the 2016-17 season (Feb. 14, 2017).
Terence Davis scored a team-high 17 points, all coming in the first half.
Freshman Blake Hinson made his collegiate debut by starting for the Rebels, becoming the first Rebel freshman to start in a season opener since Terrance Henry to tip off the 2008-09 season.
D.C. Davis scored five points all of last season; he tallied eight in a span of 61 seconds in the first half, ending with a career-high 12.
The Rebels have scored 90 points in three of their last four season openers.

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Team Stats

Terence Davis

Breein Tyree

Devontae Shuler

D.C. Davis

Players Mentioned

D.C. Davis

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Breein Tyree

Players Mentioned

D.C. Davis

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Breein Tyree

The University of Mississippi Athletics