No. 17 Ole Miss withstands challenge from Queens

Sean Pedulla fired in a game-high 25 points Saturday and No. 17 Ole Miss pulled away late in the second half for an 80-62 nonconference win over visiting Queens in Oxford, Miss.

Pedulla, a transfer from Virginia Tech, canned 9 of 14 shots from the field and scored 18 points in the second half for the Rebels (11-1). Dre Davis added 11 points, while Matthew Murrell and Jaylen Murray each tallied 10 as Ole Miss dominated the Royals 42-24 in points in the paint.

A big difference was turnovers. The Rebels forced 21 of them and converted them into 22 points, while committing only eight turnovers themselves. That offset strong 3-point shooting from Queens; the North Carolina school nailed 11 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Maban Jabriel scored 15 points off the bench to pace the Royals (7-6), while Chris Ashby added 14 and Leo Colimerio 13 points. Queens made only 10 of 26 field goal tries in the second half.

Ole Miss never trailed in the second half but couldn't put the Royals away until a late 8-0 run, which Murrell capped with a 3-pointer for a 74-57 cushion with 3:20 remaining.

Ole Miss entered the game as a 27 1/2-point favorite and winner of four straight, but Queens, in just its third year as a Division I program, made a challenge from the outset. The Royals outshot the Rebels in the first half and were within three rebounds of matching the hosts.

The teams swapped the lead for the first 7 1/2 minutes, with the Royals ahead 15-13 via Colimerio's 3-point play at the 12:27 mark. But Ole Miss regained the lead with nine straight points, Pedulla capping the run with a driving layup with 9:40 left.

Pedulla drove for a layup with 1:19 left to give the Rebels a 36-28 advantage, their largest of the half, but Queens responded. Colimerio cut the margin to five by converting a layup with four seconds left, making it 38-33 at intermission.

--Field Level Media