Pedulla, Murrell score 19, Ole Miss pulls away in the second half to defeat Oral Roberts 100-68
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Sean Pedulla and Matthew Murrrell each had 19 points, and Mississippi defeated Oral Roberts 100-68 Thursday night as the Rebels remained unbeaten.
Five players scored in double figures for Ole Miss (5-0) with Jaemyn Brakefield and Davon Barnes adding 13 apiece, and Mikeal Brown-Jones scoring 12.
Oral Roberts (2-4) got 19 points from Darius Robinson Jr., 14 from Sam Alajiki and 13 from Issac McBride.
ORU: The Eagles, a fifth-place preseason pick in the Summit League, were just 12-19 last season.
Ole Miss: The Rebels went 13-0 in non-conference play last season and have now won 18-straight non-conference games, the longest streak in the nation. North Carolina State and Memphis were non-conference highlight wins a year ago. Ole Miss hasn’t faced a high major this season.
Late-arriving 3-point shooting after Ole Miss missed its first nine behind the arc. The Rebels hit their last four 3s to withstand 52% shooting by ORU and lead 50-40 at the break.
The lead reached 20 at 71-51 with 11 minutes, 39 seconds left when Brown-Jones gained an angle on his defender and scored at the rim with his left hand. The rout was on.
The Rebels scored 37 points of 21 ORU turnovers. The turnovers led to layups, and the Rebels outscored the Eagles 44-16 in the paint. Ole Miss had just eight turnovers of its own and was credited with 13 steals, five of them by Pedulla.
Ole Miss faces 4-0 Brigham Young in San Diego on Thanksgiving. North Carolina State and Purdue make up the other half of the neutral-site event.
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