OXFORD, Miss. — Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield scored 15 points apiece and ignited a decisive second half rally as No. 24 Mississippi defeated Georgia 63-51 on Saturday.
Ole Miss (12-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed 28-26 at halftime, but opened the second half with an 11-2 burst in less than four minutes, started by consecutive jumpers by Murrell and capped by consecutive baskets by Brakefield to build a 37-30 lead.
Georgia (12-2, 0-1) never led again but pulled within 45-43 on a Blue Cain jumper with six minutes remaining. Ole Miss responded with a 3-pointer by Brakefield and a Davon Barnes jumper and were never seriously threatened again.
Asa Newell led the Bulldogs with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Georgia's loss snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Takeaways
Georgia: The January schedule is top heavy with four consecutive AP Top 25 opponents.
Ole Miss: Chris Beard’s Rebels played with a sense of urgency in the second half after a repeated series of slow starts in previous games.
Key moment
Ole Miss outscored Georgia 18-4 in the opening nine minutes of the second half to build a 44-32 lead. Four Rebels had two baskets apiece in the balanced surge, shooting 7 of 12 from the field, while limiting Georgia to 2 of 14 from the field.
Key stat
Georgia was 17 of 58 from the field and 2 of 18 from the 3-point line. The Bulldogs had one field goal in the final six minutes.
Up next
Georgia opens a two-game home stand with No. 10 Kentucky on Tuesday, followed by No. 12 Oklahoma on Jan. 11. Ole Miss visits No. 23 Arkansas on Wednesday.
