The Ole Miss men’s basketball team made sure seniors Devontae Shuler and Romello White ended their careers in The Pavilion on a victorious note Saturday night. Using the 1-3-1 defense to stop Scotty Pippen Jr. and the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Rebels (15-10, 10-8 SEC) led by as much as 25 and cruised to a 56-46 victory.
Shuler got the Rebels started with a three, passing Ole Miss greats Marshall Henderson and Stefan Moody on the all-time scoring list with the shot. Jarkel Joiner scored a team-high 15 points to pace Ole Miss on the offensive end of the floor. White also reached double figures with 11 points, adding 4 rebounds as well as two blocks.
Freshman Matthew Murrell tallied eight points, tying his most in an SEC game, to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Luis Rodriguez stuffed the box score with seven points, eight rebounds (team high) and three steals (team high)
Ole Miss limited Pippen, who scored a career-high 36 points at Cincinnati two nights ago, to just seven points. The No. 2 scorer in the SEC (21.4 ppg) recorded all of his points in the first 10 minutes of the game, and the Rebels held him scoreless the rest of the way.
Ole Miss head basketball coach Kermit Davis, forward Romello White, and guard Jarkel Joiner all spoke postgame about the win. Video is courtesy of the SEC.