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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
12-10,3-6SEC
LSU
16-6,4-5SEC
Men’s Basketball Hangs on in Thriller Over No. 25 LSU, 76-72
2/1/2022 | Men's Basketball
First Win in Baton Rouge Since March 9, 2013
BATON ROUGE, La. – Ole Miss led by as many as 24 during a phenomenal first half, and despite a furious LSU defensive effort in the second half that made the game's final seconds exhilarating, the Rebels were able to show resiliency and hang on, defeating the 25th-ranked Tigers, 76-72, on Tuesday night – their first win in Baton Rouge since 2013.
The Rebels (12-10, 3-6 SEC) stunned a loud and active crowd of 9,707 at the Maravich Center on Tuesday, negating arguably the nation's best defense in the first 20 minutes by shooting 65.4 percent over the impressive LSU (16-6, 4-5 SEC) defense. The Tigers took that personally, though, coming out of the break with a powerful response on defense that helped the Tigers claw back in and make the game's final minutes a cardiac affair.
Momentum seemed to be swinging permanently in LSU's direction, especially after star freshman point guard Daeshun Ruffin (19 points, three assists, two steals) went down in the final minutes with a knee injury, and foul trouble forced Austin Crowley (six points) out of the game and Luis Rodriguez (15 points, 12 rebounds, three steals) in jeopardy of the same fate. But the Rebels didn't back down, with crucial loose-ball rebounds and clutch free throw shooting from Nysier Brooks (10 points, eight rebounds, one steal, one block) helped the Rebels hang on.
"I don't think I've ever been more proud of our locker room than I have right there," said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis. "We came out and just played as good as we could play. We talked about trying to play a lot faster in transition and not play against LSU's half-court defense, and we did that. Daeshun and all of those guys played great and got us off to a really great start. We knew LSU would make a run, and they had a great crowd here, but just all of the things we absorbed during that game: Daeshun going down, Austin fouls out and then Tye (Fagan) and Matt (Murrell) who hadn't played point guard all year long are playing it against a pressing team. We just found a way. It wasn't pretty at times, but gosh that team competed and I'm just so happy for them."
The Rebels started the night on a mission, opening the game on a 43-19 run that saw a 24 point Ole Miss lead over the Tigers after just 14:16 of play, marking the largest Rebel lead in Baton Rouge since the team led by 30 against the Tigers on Jan. 22, 2011. The Rebels would go on to win that game 78-51.
However, the Tigers were sparked by guard Eric Gaines, who helped lead a 13-2 LSU run to close out the opening half of play, cutting the Rebel lead down to just 13 at the break. Still, this marked the first halftime lead for Ole Miss against an LSU team in Baton Rouge since 2016, and was also the largest halftime lead vs. LSU since March 9, 2013 where the team also held a 13 point halftime advantage.
To open the half, the Rebels were able to keep the Tigers at arm's length as LSU hovered around a 10 point deficit. This changed at the 12:05 mark of the half, as starting point guard Daeshun Ruffin would go down with a knee injury that would knock him out for the remainder of the night. It was not long after that fellow guard Austin Crowley fouled out for the Rebels, leaving Ole Miss without a point guard for the final 4:28 of play.
Down the stretch, the Tigers would come as close as two points away from the Rebels, but it was the free throw shooting of Ole Miss that would help to ice the game, with six of the Rebels' last eight coming from the charity stripe, as well as a Jaemyn Brakefield fast break layup helping to clinch the road upset.
Junior Luis Rodriguez helped to lead the Rebels past the formidable foe, logging his first double-double of the season (15 points, 12 rebounds) along with three steals on the night to secure the Ole Miss victory.
"Daeshun had the ball in his hands a lot, I thought Austin Crowley gave us some good minutes at the point and Nas fought his tail off," Davis said. "Luis Rodriguez, that's the best he's played since he's been at Ole Miss. He impacted a high level game on the road with his toughness. Good for Luis."
The victory for the Rebels is the first in Baton Rouge since the regular season finale of the 2012-13 season that saw Ole Miss win the SEC Tournament title and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss will now remain on the road, with the Rebels' next matchup coming against the Florida Gators (13-8, 3-5 SEC) in Gainesville Saturday afternoon. Tipoff against the Gators is slated for 2:30 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.
