Rebels open SEC tourney with gritty win vs. Gamecocks

Nashville, Tenn. — No. 13 seed Ole Miss (12-20, 3-15 SEC) defeated No. 12 seed South Carolina, 67-61, in the first round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.

“It’s great for our team,” acting head coach Win Case said. “We always talk about a happy locker room. It’s been a tough season for us, but I just want to take my hat off to my team. I’m very proud of (him), let’s keep going.”

Amaree Abram led the Rebels, coming off the bench to contribute 20 points in just 21 minutes of action on the court. Jaemyn Brakefield (16 points, seven rebounds) and James White (10 points, 10 rebounds) also took the lead for Ole Miss.

Myles Burns recorded six steals, three in the first four minutes of play, moving up the Ole Miss list for most steals in a single season with 77, second only to Gerald Glass, who recorded 89 in the 1989 season.

The Gamecocks were led by Gregory Jackson II with 24 points and Meechie Johnson with 13 points and five assists while Hayden Brown scored 11.

South Carolina took a small lead before Burns began dribbling the ball, helping consecutive dunks by Matthew Murrell and White to tie the score at four—all about four minutes into Ole Miss’s first slip away, but South Carolina’s Hayden Brown slammed down a dunk at 13: 27 marks to pull the Gamecocks to 9-8.

Then White continued to lay two in back-to-back Ole Miss possessions while leading the Rebels’ first half efforts with six rebounds and six points.

Jackson II made a basket to tie it at 13 with 10:46 left in the first half. Brown rang in another dunk, followed by a Jacobi Wright layup to bring the Gamecocks within one, 30-29, at the halftime buzzer.

Abram made a big difference for the Rebels in the first half, scoring eight off the bench.

At the start of the second, Jackson II wasted no time, with a dunk on the Gamecocks’ first possession of the second half to put them ahead, 31-30.

Ole Miss responded quickly as Burns hit a triple to start an 8-0 run, capped by a dunk by White, to start the comeback, 39-31.

The Gamecocks refused to be silenced when Brown threw an alley-oop up to Jackson II, who shook the rim to end the Rebels’ streak at the 15:29 mark.

Despite South Carolina’s relentless defense, Brakefield sliced ​​one from beyond the arc and grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession for another layup, extending Ole Miss’ advantage to 44-36.

However, South Carolina would not go away.

A pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Johnson brought the Gamecocks back within range, 44-41. Jackson II followed, completing a three-point play to match Ole Miss before outscoring them, 46-44, with a layup with 10:27 left to play.

Abram capped a 10-0 South Carolina run with a 3-pointer as the back-and-forth battle continued. Abram continued to dominate Ole Miss as two more triples led a 10-2 run to grab a nine-point advantage, 59-50, with 4:46 remaining.

However, Jackson II would not go away quietly as he unleashed another dunk home run to start the Gamecocks pursuit once again. South Carolina would come within three, 64-61, after Jackson II drained a three with just over a minute on the clock.

Ole Miss sealed a 67-61 victory on White’s jumper and one free throw by Abram, advancing in the tournament.

“We came here with a clean slate and knew it was going to be a new season,” Brakefield said. “We just try to come here 0-0 and take each game by ourselves. We will focus on tomorrow from now on.”

Until Next Time

Ole Miss will face 5-seed Tennessee in the second round of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Game 3 matchup between 8-seed Florida and 9-seed Mississippi State. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

South Carolina (11-21, 4-14 SEC) was eliminated from the tournament.