Rebels fall in back-and-forth tilt with Oklahoma, suffer first loss of season

Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
·1 min read

Nov. 27—The Ole Miss men's basketball team fell 59-55 in a back-and-forth matchup with Oklahoma in the ESPN Events Invitational championship game Sunday afternoon in Florida.

It is the Rebels' (6-1) first loss of the season. Freshman guard Amaree Abram led all players with 17 points.

Ole Miss led by two at halftime behind eight points apiece from freshman guard T.J. Caldwell and junior guard Matthew Murrell. The Rebels trailed briefly early in the second half but quickly rallied with a 6-0 run. Oklahoma (6-1) retook the lead with 11:09 left in the half on a Grant Sherfield layup, part of a Sooners 13-2 run.

Abram rattled off a 5-0 run of his own to put Ole Miss back in front. Four-straight points from Bijan Cortes then put the Sooners ahead for good. Oklahoma finished the game on a 7-0 run.

Ole Miss plays at Memphis Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

MICHAEL KATZ is the Ole Miss athletics reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at michael.katz@djournal.com.