Field Level Media
Nov 19, 2019
The Ole Miss Rebels put on a dominant defensive display, particularly in the first half, to defeat the Seattle Redhawks 65-52 on Tuesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Breein Tyree scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists for the Rebels, while K.J. Buffen scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and swiped two steals.
But the story all night was the Ole Miss defense.
Ole Miss (4-0) locked down Seattle (2-4) virtually from the opening tip, allowing only 17 points in the first half as the Redhawks failed to adjust to the Rebels' defense.
Ole Miss led 20-14 with 10:29 left in the first half. Seattle scored just three points for the rest of the half, enabling the Rebels to take a 30-17 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Seattle's first field goal didn't come until 15:14 remained in the game and hit only two field-goal attempts in the first nine minutes of the half. Ole Miss extended its 13-point halftime lead to 28, at 52-24, with 11 minutes to go. The Redhawks closed the final margin after Ole Miss put in its backups with several minutes left.
After scoring 23 against Syracuse on Saturday, Seattle's Terrell Brown scored only 17 on 6-of-16 shooting against the Rebels. He did not make a 3-pointer.
Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis devised a plan to keep Brown under wraps. The plan worked, and no one else on Seattle's roster was able to become a potent second scoring option. Seattle's second-leading scorers were Delante Jones and Morgan Means, with seven points apiece. Jones was 2 of 9 from the field, Means 2 of 12.
Ole Miss hounded Seattle into a horrendous shooting night. The Redhawks finished the game 16 of 56 from the field (29 percent) and 4 of 17 from 3-point range (24 percent). The Rebels also grabbed seven steals and forced 12 turnovers.
--Field Level Media