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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
8-5,0-1SEC
Tennessee
10-3,1-1SEC
Men’s Basketball Falls in Overtime Thriller at No. 18 Tennessee, 66-60
1/5/2022 | Men's Basketball
Tye Fagan Scored a Career-High 23 Points
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite being shorthanded for several reasons, the Ole Miss men's basketball team gave No. 18 Tennessee everything it could but ultimately ran out of gas in overtime, falling to the Volunteers, 66-60, to open SEC play at Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday night.
The Rebels (8-5, 0-1 SEC) led by as many as 12 in the first half, using a crushing defense and incredible scoring performances from Tye Fagan (23 points) and Matthew Murrell (17 points). But Tennessee (10-3, 1-1 SEC) took advantage of a season-high 27 Rebel turnovers to chip away, force overtime and eventually run away with the victory, winning the extra frame, 15-9. Ole Miss was without three student-athletes due to COVID protocols, and also without leading scorer and senior leader, Jarkel Joiner, who is dealing with an injury.
"I respect our locker room. We tried hard to compete and we're going to be really disappointed tomorrow when we watch the tape just because of our inability to protect the ball," said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis. "Give Tennessee credit, they climbed into us and the game was really physical. Both teams only shot eight free throws, so it was a physical game both ways."
It was a defensive slugfest to start the game, with neither team scoring until a Matthew Murrell bucket at 15:48 broke the stalemate. However, the Rebel defense locked in at that point, forcing the Volunteers scoreless for the first 7:36 of the game up until the 12:24 mark of the first half. Murrell would be key for the Rebels in the opening frame, scoring 10 of his 17 points in the first as the Rebel defense followed suit, holding the Volunteers to an Ole Miss opponent season-low 19 points. The Rebels entered the break with a 21-19 lead, their first at Thompson-Boling since Feb. 8, 2017 (38-34; lost 75-66) and their first against a ranked Tennessee team in Knoxville since Jan. 16, 2010 (33-28, lost 71-69 in overtime).
Both defenses dug in for the second half, forcing several shot clock violations on both ends of the court. Tennessee tied the game several times down the final stretch, but every time the Rebels answered, and more times than not it was senior Tye Fagan who did the answering.
Fagan ended the night with a career-high 23 points on a 5-of-6 shooting clip from beyond the arc, another career-high. Combined with Murrell's 4-of-6 mark from deep, the duo accounted for nine of the season-high 11 Rebel trifectas made on the night.
Behind the offensive performance of Fagan, the Rebels were able to reach a lead of seven over the Volunteers, and with just 5:46 remaining on the clock Tennessee needed a big push in order to remain in the game. That push for Tennessee would come from Santiago Vescovi, who would score seven of his 17 points on the night in the final 3:39 of regulation to help push a Volunteer comeback and force overtime 51-51.
The Rebels saw an early spark in overtime once again behind the three-point shooting of Matthew Murrell, as his fourth triple of the night gave Ole Miss a 54-53 lead with 4:16 left to play. However a pair of three pointers in response by Tennessee would give the Volunteers the push they needed to maintain a lead over the Rebels to close out the night, as the Volunteers would go on to claim a 66-60 win on their home floor.
Ole Miss returns home to host heated rival Mississippi State (10-3, 1-0 SEC) at SJB Pavilion on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC 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.
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