The Ole Miss offense exploded, as the Rebels took down Mississippi Valley State with a 111-82 victory, led by sophomore point guard Derrick Millinghaus.
Millinghaus had one of his most efficient games as a Rebel, as he scored a career-high 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He added three assists and three steals.
“(He was) really good offensively,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “He gave us great push. When he’s in the game, we can get up and down the floor and make things happen.”
Ole Miss (3-0) outscored Mississippi Valley State (1-4) 16-6 in fast break points.
Millinghaus’ previous career high was 19 points last season in a win over Arkansas Little Rock. He’s only had one other game over 15 points.
Senior guard Marshall Henderson made his 2013 home debut for Ole Miss, and he scored 15 points and added four assists. He shot 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, but almost didn’t play at all.
“The truth is he got his hand in a chair about an hour before the game,” Kennedy said. “We didn’t even know if he was going to be able to play.”
Junior forward Demarco Cox also had a career high in points and produced a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. It was his second career double-double.
“(Cox) worked so hard,” Kennedy said. “I was glad to see him rewarded by finishing some plays at the basket. Some of that was him finishing it, but some of it was us putting him in a position to be successful. Sometimes, we are bigs in a position where they can’t be successful.”
He shot 6 of 7 from the field and more importantly for Ole Miss picked up only one foul.
The Rebels only have four scholarship post players, and freshman Dwight Coleby missed the game with shin splints. Ole Miss is one injury away from being in trouble with post depth this year; if Cox can play big minutes without getting in foul trouble, the post situation will be better for Ole Miss.
Sophomore forward Anthony Perez, who had to play in the post due to Coleby’s injury, turned in his second straight solid performance for Ole Miss. He scored 18 points on 4 of 6 shooting and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He had 11 points in the first half on just three field goal attempts. Perez, who struggled last season with confidence and aggression, has started living up to the praise Kennedy has been giving him throughout his career.
“He’s gotta play bigger for us defensively, but I thought offensively he played over the top of smaller guards,” Kennedy said.
He scored 10 points and had three blocks in the Rebels last game at Coastal Carolina.
Junoir guard LaDarius White broke out of his early season slump by scoring 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting. He had scored just 4 points on 1 of 12 shooting in the Rebels first two games.
Overall, six Rebels scored in double figures. Junior guard Jarvis Summers had his third straight game of 10-plus points as he added 14. Sophomore guard Martavious Newby and freshman forward Sebastian Saiz combined for 15 more points.
The last time Ole Miss scored over 100 points was Decemebr 30, 2012 against Alcorn State. Ole Miss posted their most efficient game of the young season, as they scored 1.39 points per possession. The Rebels shot 50.7 percent from the field in their best game of the season.
Ole Miss improved at the free throw line – they came into the game shooting 59 percent – by knocking down 30 of 38 (78.9 percent).
Defensively, Ole Miss had their worst night of the season, as Mississippi Valley shot 43.5 percent from the field and 50 percent on threes. Five different Delta Devils reached double figures, led by Blake Ralling’s 16.
Next up, Ole Miss will play North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
– Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
