How It Happened: Ole Miss Basketball Earns Pivotal 85-79 SEC Win Over Auburn Tigers

AUBURN, Ala. – Taking a lead in hostile territory midway through the second half, the Ole Miss men's basketball team held off an Auburn comeback attempt through clutch shooting and strong defensive play, picking up an 85-79 victory in Neville Arena on Saturday night.

Up by five, 76-71, with under two minutes left, Ole Miss had possession with a chance to deliver a dagger in front of a filled-out Neville Arena.

Ilias Kamardine caught the ball on the left side of the wing before taking two dribbles left to the corner baseline, then crossed back over to the top of the left wing into a screening James Scott, who slipped through the defense for an alley-oop slam with 1:11 to put the Rebels up 78-71.

Ole Miss (12-17, 4-12 SEC) would start from behind as Auburn (15-14, 6-10 SEC) led for the first few minutes of the game until Patton Pinkins buried a three-pointer to give Ole Miss a 10-9 lead at the 16:49 mark.

The Rebels maintained the advantage for the next 10:48, before Auburn regained it 26-25 after knocking down a pair of free throws. The home team continued to build on its momentum, getting up to a 37-30 lead when Keyshawn Hall downed a three-pointer with 2:23 remaining in the first half.

Ole miss then closed out the half with an 8-0 run, leading 38-37 headed into halftime as Pinkins (11), AJ Storr (10), and Malik Dia (10) all scored in double digits in the first half.

Auburn came out in the second period quickly jumping out to a 48-40 lead with just over 17 minutes left to play. However, Ole Miss again battled back with a 13-3 run, which was capped off by a Pinkins three-pointer at the 13:45 mark to put Ole Miss in front 53-51.

While the Rebels went on to build a 67-55 lead with 7:32 left to play, the Tigers would not go quietly as they retaliated with a 12-4 run to cut the Rebels' lead to four, 71-67, with under five minutes in the game.

The home team managed to get back within one possession, 71-69, after knocking down a pair of free throws, but Ilias Kamardine connected on a clutch three-pointer with under three minutes remaining, putting Ole Miss up five.

Following Scott's game-sealing slam with just over a minute remaining, Ole Miss would hold on for the eventual six-point win.

Ole Miss will return home to Oxford, Mississippi, to take on No. 21 Vanderbilt in its second-to-last game of the regular season on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. in the SJB Pavilion. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

NOTABLES
- Patton Pinkins finished with a new career-best 26 points, matching his career-best with four makes from three while going 8-10 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line.
- AJ Storr chipped in 26 points, his seventh 20-plus performance off the bench this season and one short of his season-best.
- Eduardo Klafke secured eight rebounds, one shy of his career-best set previously this season against Alabama.
- James Scott set a season-best with four blocks on the defensive end.

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