No. 23 Ole Miss fends off Arkansas comeback bid

Field Level Media|published: Wed 8th January, 21:52 2025

Jan 8, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Ole Miss Rebels forward Malik Dia (0) dunks the ball as Arkansas Razorbacks forward Trevon Brazile (4) defends during the first half at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Malik Dia scored a season-high 21 points and drained a crucial 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining as No. 23 Ole Miss topped Arkansas 73-66 on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark.

With Arkansas rallying down 68-62, Dia -- who had a team-high eight rebounds -- took a pass from Jaylen Murray and canned a wide-open trey to lock down the win for the Rebels (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who won for the seventh time in eight games.

Sean Pedulla had 16 points and made 3 for 4 from deep. Dre Davis added 10 as Ole Miss made 23 of 50 shots (46 percent) from the floor and hit 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from range.

Adou Thiero led the Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) with 17 points and nine boards. Johnell Davis had 15 points, while Boogie Fland had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. D.J. Wagner netted 11.

To open the only regular-season meeting, Arkansas raced out to a 10-1 start behind Fland's five points, a three-point play by Wagner and Thiero's steal and breakaway, holding the visitors without a basket until Murray's driving layup at 15:18.

An Ole Miss 10-5 run capped by Dia's dunk made it 15-11 before the Razorbacks got a big three-pointer from Johnell Davis for a 20-13 advantage.

In the 87th all-time matchup between the border state teams, the Rebels closed the gap and tied it at 30-all on Dia's driving dunk with 1:56 remaining.

Ending the first half on a 14-6 run, Ole Miss saw Pedulla's all-net long ball leave the halftime score leveled at 33.

The Razorbacks, who led by as many as nine, shot 43.3 percent (13 of 30) in the first 20 minutes.

The Rebels started slowly but picked it up to make 11 of 27 shots (40.7 percent).

The visitors were hot out of the locker room, going up 43-37 at 17:40 as Matthew Murrell connected for five points, including a deep ball. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks went cold during the 17-7 Ole Miss run.

Down 52-42 with just over 12 minutes to go, Thiero made a conventional three-point play to bring the crowd alive and soon added an electrifying slam and short jumper.

The Razorbacks cut it to six with 2:22 to go, but the Rebels stood strong down the stretch for their second consecutive victory.

--Field Level Media

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