How It Happened: Ole Miss Basketball Drops SEC Matchup 94-87 To Arkansas Razorbacks

John Calipari and Co. get the SEC win over the Rebels, Ole Miss moves to 0-2 in SEC play.

Dec 17, 2025; Tupelo, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels guard Ilias Kamardine (6) dribbles as Alabama A&M Bulldogs guard Koron Davis (1) defends during the second half at Cadence Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

OXFORD, Miss. – Despite a surge in the second half where Ole Miss scored 55 in the final 20 minutes of action, the Rebels fell short 94-87 against No. 15 Arkansas in the SJB Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Ole Miss (8-7, 0-2 SEC) fell behind early, but eventually took its first lead of the game, 6-4, after an alley-oop slam by James Scott at the 15:36 minute mark. However, Arkansas (12-3, 2-0 SEC) would respond with an 11-0 run.

Ole Miss would storm back to make it a two-point deficit, 32-30, after Ilias Kamardine converted on a left-handed layup with 3:32 left to play in the first half. Arkansas would retaliate by closing out the final 2:31 of play with a 10-2 run to head into the break up 42-32.

In the second half, the Rebels got going early with another alley-oop from Scott, before following it up on their next offensive possession with another finish from Scott to cut Arkansas's lead and force an Arkansas timeout.

Over the next 3:37, the home team got within five points, 52-47, after Malik Dia knocked down a free throw at the 15:04 mark.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Basketball.

However, the Razorbacks would manage to keep increasing their lead, reaching a game-high lead of 16 with 7:02 remaining.

After going on a 10-1 run, Ole Miss would make a final push, cutting the deficit to four, 89-85, with under two minutes to play. The Razorbacks would close out the home team with a 6-2 run to escape the upset.

Ole Miss will return home for a matchup against Missouri on Saturday, January 10 at 5 p.m. in the SJB Pavilion and broadcast on the SEC Network.

NOTABLES

• Ole Miss scored 55 second-half points, the second-most in a single half in Chris Beard's tenure in Oxford.
• The team shot 50.8 percent from the field, their fifth game shooting over 50 percent this season.
• Five players scored in double figures, paced by 16 from Malik Dia and Ilias Kamardine.
• Eduardo Klafke earned his first collegiate start, finishing with a +6 in the plus-minus column while shooting 4-5 from the field to score 11 points and adding three assists and two steals.

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Kirk Herbstreit Shares Take on Ole Miss and the SEC as Oregon, Indiana Battle in CFP

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