Matthew Murrell scored 17 points to lead six double-figure scorers as Ole Miss made sure there would be no repeat of the last time these teams met by routing Valparaiso 98-61 on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
The Beacons won the last meeting in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, a memorable 70-69 finish on Bryce Drew’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
This time, the Rebels (7-2) led wire-to-wire and were ahead by double-digit margins over the last 30 minutes.
They took advantage of Valpo’s season-high 21 turnovers for a 36-0 cushion in points off turnovers while also enjoying healthy advantages in points in the paint (64-36) and bench scoring (54-25).
The Rebels fell short of hitting the century mark for the first time since early in the 2013-14 season but still posted their biggest winning margin since a 90-43 win over UT Martin on Dec. 22, 2020.
Daeshun Ruffin scored 14 points in just 10 minutes in his second appearance of the season since recovering from a bone bruise. Myles Burns added 12 points, Jaemyn Brakefield and Robert Allen 11 each, and Tye Fagan 10 for the Rebels.
Kobe King led the Beacons (4-7) with 20 points while Ben Krikke added 16 and Nick Edwards 14.
Ole Miss shot a season-high 56.2 percent (41 of 73) from the field.
The Rebels needed less than five minutes to establish a double-digit lead at 16-6, but the Beacons stayed within range, closing the gap to 19-15 at the 12:49 mark.
Mississippi’s 11-0 run produced a 20-point cushion at 39-19, and the Rebels finished off their biggest half of the season with a 53-30 lead at the break.
The romp continued after intermission with the Rebels stretching their lead out to 30 points at 62-32 with 17-plus minutes left. Their biggest advantage was 41 points at 83-42 on Allen’s layup with 9:55 remaining.
–Field Level Media
