Rapid Reaction: Ole Miss Basketball Drops SEC Showdown to Kentucky Wildcats 72-63

Chris Beard and Co. drop an SEC showdown in Lexington, Wildcats get the best of the Rebels on the road.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Basketball.

LEXINGTON, Ky. –AJ Storr led the way with his fifth 20-point game this season as the Rebels fell short to Kentucky 72-63 on Saturday morning in Rupp Arena.

Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC) was caught in a tight contest early against Kentucky (14-6, 5-2 SEC) thanks to a corner three-pointer from Zach Day that had the Rebels up 14-11 at the 11:28 mark.

The Wildcats got back in front 19-15 after a turnaround jumper by Jasper Johnson in the paint, which Johnson followed up with a transition three-pointer with 7:22 remaining in the first half.

Kentucky extended its lead to as much as 10, 29-19, with 2:35 left to play in the first half. However, the visitors battled back, causing the Wildcats to go scoreless in the final minutes, cutting the lead to 29-23, headed into the halfway break.

In the second half, Kentucky would rebuild its offensive momentum, getting out to a 37-29 lead through the first few minutes of action.

The Rebels would storm back, knotting the game at 39 after going on a 9-2 run with Patton Pinkins delivering the game-tying three-pointer at the 13:51 mark.

Over the next six minutes, neither team managed to break away from the other. With Just under eight minutes remaining, Storr broke away for a fast break tomahawk slam to put the Rebels within one, 50-49, forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout to halt the Ole Miss momentum.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Basketball.

A minute and two seconds remained in the second half as Kentucky led 63-60, eventually holding on to the lead in the final moments.

Ole Miss will return home to face off against No. 15 Vanderbilt on Saturday, January 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the SJB Pavilion and broadcast on the SEC Network.

NOTABLES

• AJ Storr finished with a team-high 20 points, and is averaging 20.0 points per game off the bench during the past six contests.
• Corey Chest pulled in a season-best tying 10 rebounds.
• Malik Dia added 16 points, his 10th game this season with 16 or more.

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