No. 23 Ole Miss dominates in overtime in win against BYU
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- Mississippi forward Mikeal Brown-Jones (1) fights for a rebound with BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) and forward Richie Saunders (15) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in San Diego.
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- BYU guard Egor Demin (3) dunks over Mississippi forward Jaemyn Brakefield (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in San Diego.
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- BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) drives past Mississippi guard Matthew Murrell (11) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024, in San Diego.
BYU had a chance to win Thursday’s matchup with No. 23 Ole Miss, but failed to execute in the final seconds of regulation.
The Rebels dominated overtime, getting nine points from guard Jaylen Murray and making 13 of 13 from the foul line, and took away a 96-85 victory at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
BYU’s defense couldn’t stay in front of the 5-foot-11 Murray, who scored a career high 28 points, mostly by penetrating into the key and scoring on whoever happened to be in front of him.
“We haven’t really been a turnover team this year so far and the first time we faced a physical defense, we turned it over 17 times,” BYU coach Kevin Young said during his postgame interview on BYU Radio. “So we’ll have to get better there. I thought our defense was poor. They had 40 points in the paint, so we’ve got to do some things to correct that. But the season is a learning experience, and we’ll have plenty to learn from this game.”
Five Cougars hit for double figures, led by Kanon Catchings with 17 points (5 of 10 from the 3-point line) and 16 each for Richie Saunders, Egor Demin and Fousseyni Traore. Mihailo Boskovic also hit for double figures with ten points but BYU shot just 41% (26 of 64) from the field and 12 of 38 (32%) from the 3-point line. The 17 turnovers became 23 points for Ole Miss on the other end.
BYU played well early and pushed out to a ten-point lead, 31-21, on Catchings’ fourth triple with 7:55 to play in the first half. Ole Miss pulled even at 39 late in the half but Boskovic drained a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 42-39 lead at the half.
BYU trailed by as many as seven points the second half but got strong play inside by Traore to tie it up at 69-all with 3:22 to play. Trevin Knell and Demin dropped in 3-pointers to push the Cougars out to a 75-71 lead with 2:18 to play, but they couldn’t hold their advantage. Saunders gave BYU a 77-75 lead with 38.7 seconds to go on a pair of free throws but Murray drove and scored while falling to the floor to tie the game at 77 with 25.8 remaining.
The Cougars held for the last shot and tried to get the ball to Traore on the low block but the Ole Miss defense attacked and forced him up the lane. Traore collided with a defender and nearly traveled, throwing up a leaner that rolled off the rim. The Rebels’ Sean Pedulla launched a 75-foot shot that bounced off the back of the rim on the other end and the game headed to overtime.
Catchings made his fifth 3-pointer with 2:33 to go to pull BYU to within two, 83-81, but that was as close as the Cougars could get. BYU shot just 2 of 11 in the extra session and Ole Miss, a veteran team with ten seniors, pulled away at the foul line.
“We said one of the keys in the game was going to be the possession battle and they ended up plus six or seven,” Young said. “I thought we sort of got away from who we are in the early part of the second half, where we got down and we kind of had to regroup our guys in a time out, and kind of get back to how we want to play.
“A lot of this, too, is Dallin (Hall) and Egor learning to play together. This was the first game all year we had that particular starting lineup out there together. And so we’re certainly a work in progress. I look forward to seeing our guys response tomorrow.”
BYU (5-1) will play North Carolina State (5-1) on Friday. The Wolfpack lost to No. 13 Purdue 71-61 in another game played in the Invitational on Thursday. The Boilermakers and Ole Miss will meet in the championship game.
