Ole Miss knocks off Southern Miss 89-72 in Ladner’s return to the Gulf Coast

By CURTIS ROCKWELL

Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray puts up a shot Saturday as Southern Miss defender Mo Arnold objects. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

BILOXI — Ole Miss messed up Jay Ladner’s return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Saturday afternoon.

Shooting a season-best 57.9 percent from three-point range, the No. Unbeaten and 25th-ranked Ole Miss scored a season-high 89 points to defeat Southern Miss 89-72 on Saturday in the Mississippi Sports Coliseum.

The game marked the closest Ladner, now in his fifth season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles, had coached in a regular season college gameto his old school St. Stanislaus where he spent 20 years in Bay St. Louis leading the Rock-A-Chaws including guiding SSC to a Class 4A state championship in 2011.

Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner patrols the sideline at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

“The Coast Coliseum is a great arena for college basketball, and I appreciate (Ole Miss head coach Chris) Coach Beard for helping us get this rivalry started again after some years,” Ladner said after the game. “It was a good game, good turnout and I’m pleased with that. Ole Miss has a great team and they shot the ball extremely well today. I thought we got off to a slow start defensively early, and they rocked us with some good shots. But I was proud of the way my guys fought back in the second half.”

Ole Miss (12-0) took a quick lead 11 seconds in, never surrendering it the rest of the afternoon.

With about eight minutes left to play, Victor Iwuakor capped a 6-0 run from Southern Miss that made it a 10-point game.

That’s as close as the Golden Eagles would get as Ole Miss pulled away to a 17-point win.

Southern Miss defender Tegra Izay stretches out as Ole Miss guard Matthew Morrell looks for working room at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Ole Miss forward Allan Flanigan goes up with a shot at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Ole Miss center Moussa Cisse throws his hands up after losing the ball at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Jaylen Murray tied his career-high with five makes from deep, while Murrell hit four. Murrell finished with a season-high and game-best 26 points, as Murray added 21.

Allen Flanigan led the team in rebounds for the 10th time this season, stuffing the box score with 10 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. This was the third double-double of the year for Flanigan, and the fifth of his career. Jaemyn Brakefield scored 15 while securing seven boards and adding three assists.

Their 12-0 start is tied for the second-best in school history, and the second-longest win streak in program history. The only other time the Rebels made it this deep without a loss was in 2007-08 when they began the year 13-0.

Jaemyn Brakefield of Ole Miss fires up a jump shot at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Ole Miss defender Jamarion Sharp extends himself out to block a Southern Miss shot at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell glides to the basket at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Saturday. (Photo by Kerry Bass)

Southern Miss was led by Cobie Montgomery with 15 points off the bench, while Victor Iwuakor, Victor Hart, and Andre Curbelo each scored 13. The Golden Eagles shot 48 percent from the floor and 47 percent from deep. Hart grabbed 11 rebounds en route to a double-double.

The Rebels will play one final game in the 2023 calendar year, and their final non-conference game of the season, when they host Bryant on Sunday, December 31 for a 3 p.m. game in the SJB Pavilion on the SEC Network.

Southern Miss returns to action after the holiday break as it travels to Georgia Southern on Dec. 30. Tip-off in Statesboro, Ga. Is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.