Nashville, Tenn. — No. 13 seed Ole Miss (12-20, 3-15 SEC) defeated No. 12 seed South Carolina, 67-61, within the first spherical of the SEC Males’s Basketball Match on Wednesday at Bridgestone Area.

“So excited for our crew,” mentioned appearing head coach Win Case. “We all the time discuss completely happy locker rooms. It has been a troublesome season for us, however I might similar to to take my hat off to my crew. I am very pleased with (them), let’s preserve transferring ahead.”

Amaree Abram led the Rebels, coming off the bench to contribute 20 factors in simply 21 minutes of motion on the court docket. Jaemyn Brakefield (16 factors, seven rebounds) and James White (10 factors, 10 rebounds) additionally took cost for Ole Miss.

Myles Burns logged six steals, three of them inside the first 4 minutes of play, transferring up on the Ole Miss leaderboard for probably the most steals in a single season with 77, transferring as much as second behind solely Gerald Glass, who recorded 89 within the 1989 season.

The Gamecocks had been led by Gregory Jackson II with 24 factors and Meechie Johnson with 13 factors and 5 assists as Hayden Brown scored 11.

South Carolina acquired out to a small lead earlier than Burns started swiping the ball away, helping consecutive dunks by Matthew Murrell and White to settle the rating at four-all about 4 minutes in. Ole Miss began to slide away, however South Carolina’s Hayden Brown slammed a dunk on the 13:27 mark to tug the Gamecocks to inside 9-8.

Then White went on to put two in on back-to-back Ole Miss possessions as he led the Rebels’ first-half efforts with six rebounds and 6 factors.

Jackson II drove the basket to tie it at 13 with 10:46 remaining within the first half. Brown rang in one other dunk, adopted by a Jacobi Wright layup to convey the Gamecocks inside one, 30-29, on the halftime buzzer.

Abram made a giant distinction for the Rebels within the first half, scoring eight off the bench.

Firstly of the second, Jackson II wasted no time, along with his dunk on the Gamecocks’ first second-half possession pushing them forward briefly, 31-30.

Ole Miss responded shortly as Burns drained a triple to spark an 8-0 run, capped with a dunk by White, to start pulling away, 39-31

The Gamecocks refused to be silenced as Brown tossed an alley-oop as much as Jackson II, who rocked the rim to finish the Rebels’ streak on the 15:29 mark.

Regardless of a persistent South Carolina protection, Brakefield drained one from past the arc and grabbed an offensive rebound on the subsequent possession to put one other in, extending the Ole Miss benefit to 44-36.

Nonetheless, South Carolina wouldn’t go away.

A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Johnson introduced the Gamecocks again inside attain, 44-41. Jackson II adopted go well with, finishing a three-point play to match Ole Miss earlier than pushing previous them, 46-44, with a layup and 10:27 left to play.

Abram shut down South Carolina’s 10-0 run with a 3-pointer because the back-and-forth battle resumed. Abram continued to energy Ole Miss as two extra triples led a 10-2 run to reclaim a nine-point benefit, 59-50, with 4:46 remaining.

Nevertheless, Jackson II would not go quietly as he flushed one other dunk residence to start the Gamecocks’ sizzling pursuit as soon as once more. South Carolina would come inside three, 64-61, after Jackson II drained a triple with solely simply over a minute on the clock.

Ole Miss solidified the 67-61 victory with a jumper by White and a single free throw by Abram, advancing within the event.

“We got here in right here with a clear slate and knew it was going to be a brand new season,” Brakefield mentioned. “We’re simply attempting to come back right here 0-0 and take every recreation at its personal. We will concentrate on tomorrow beginning now.”

Up Subsequent

Ole Miss will face 5-seed Tennessee within the second spherical of the SEC Males’s Basketball Match on Thursday 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Recreation 3 matchup between 8-seed Florida and 9-seed Mississippi State. The sport will likely be aired on SEC Community.

South Carolina (11-21, 4-14 SEC) is eradicated from the event.