Jaemyn Brakefield scored a career-high 24 points and Myles Burns added a career-best 20 to lead Ole Miss to a 78-74 victory over Georgia in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday at Athens, Ga.
Brakefield shot 11 of 15 from the field, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, while hauling in seven rebounds. Burns hit 6 of 11 shots from the field and grabbed six rebounds, with Matthew Murrell chipping in 14 points for the Rebels.
Ole Miss (10-14, 2-9) snapped a five-game losing streak by winning for just the second time in its past 13 games.
Georgia (14-10, 4-7), which has dropped six of its past seven games, was led by Braelen Bridges, who scored a career-high 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds. Kario Oquendo added 19 points and five rebounds, while Justin Hill added 13 points and a game-high seven assists.
Georgia struggled at times without leading scorer Terry Roberts (15 points per game), who missed his second straight game due to a concussion.
Burns’ two free throws gave the Rebels a 65-63 lead they wouldn’t relinquish with 3:16 to go before Murrell’s layup made it a four-point game with 2:40 left after he failed to convert the three-point play.
Hill’s layup cut the lead to 67-65 with 2:15 to go, but Brakefield’s layup restored the four-point edge with 2:06 remaining.
Hill responded with a jumper, but Tye Fagan’s layup made it 71-67 with 1:26 to play.
Hill’s three-point play pulled Georgia to within 71-70 with a minute left before Murrell made his first free throw and missed his second attempt.
However, Murrell got the rebound, forcing Georgia to foul him. His two free throws made it 74-70 with 16.6 seconds to play. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe’s three-point play cut the lead to 74-73 with seven seconds left.
Murrell’s two free throws put the Rebels up 76-73 with six seconds left before Jailyn Ingram made his first free throw but missed his second intentionally, with Murrell grabbing the rebound with 2.2 seconds to go.
In what was a closely contested first half, neither team led by more than five. Ole Miss went into the break with a 35-34 edge thanks to Brakefield, who hit a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left in the period.
–Field Level Media
