Colby Rogers shines as Memphis rolls past No. 16 Ole Miss

Field Level Media|published: Sun 29th December, 24:37 2024

Memphis' Colby Rogers (3) drives to the basket as Mississippi's Jaylen Murray (5) guards him during the game between the University of Mississippi and the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, December 28, 2024.

Colby Rogers made 6 of 9 3-pointers and scored 28 points as host Memphis defeated No. 16 Ole Miss 87-70 on Saturday afternoon.

Rogers fouled out and finished one 3-pointer and one point short of his career-highs in both categories, and Memphis never trailed. PJ Haggerty added 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Dain Dainja had 16 points, and Moussa Cisse, an Ole Miss transfer who is in his second stint with the Tigers (10-3), had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Sean Pedulla scored 13 points, Jaylen Murray had 12 and Malik Dia added 11 to lead the Rebels (11-2), who had won their last five games.

Memphis scored the first five points of the second half to increase its lead to 43-36. Pedulla made a layup for Ole Miss' first points, but Nicholas Jourdain made consecutive field goals to push the lead to nine.

Mikeal Brown-Jones made two free throws for the Rebels before Haggerty made a 3-pointer and Cisse added a tip-in for a 52-40 lead. Pedulla made a 3-pointer before Brown-Jones was ejected for committing a Flagrant 2 foul.

Haggerty made both of the technical free throws and Rogers added three 3-pointers to push the lead to 16.

Ole Miss got within 11 points four times, but couldn't get any closer until Matthew Murrell's dunk trimmed the lead to 76-67 with five minutes remaining. Rogers answered with a 3-pointer and Dainja added two field goals to increase the lead to 16.

Murray made a free throw, but the Rebels didn't make a field goal during the final five minutes.

The Tigers scored the first four points of the game and Haggerty had four as they opened a 9-2 lead. The Rebels made consecutive field goals before Memphis scored eight straight points for a 17-6 lead.

Miinutes later, Eduardo Klafke made a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 19-12, but Rogers' 3-pointer helped the Tigers increase the lead to 27-14. Ole Miss scored the next seven points before Cisse's basket ended the run.

The Rebels closed within four points four times before Brown-Jones made two free throws to trim the lead to 38-36 at halftime.

--Field Level Media

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