Ole Miss snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night defeating the Auburn Tigers 80-63 in the return of senior point guard Stefan Moody.
Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey powers through an Auburn defender for a layup. (Photo by: Cameron Brooks)
“We needed him in a big way. I was really proud of the way he played,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said. “This team needs a leader. Everyone wants to be Batman, but we can’t have everyone be Batman. It was great to have him back.”
Ole Miss trailed 30-29 at the end of the first half, but Moody came up huge in the second half, scoring 19 of his 24 points. Moody also connected on five 3-pointers in the half that sealed the victory. As a team, the Rebels shot 55.9 percent in the second half and outscored Auburn 51-33.
“They made adjustments in the second half as far as how we were guarding the ball screen,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We like to play fast, but the game was slow for him and he was able to read and react, and get whatever he wanted. “
The play of freshmen Marcanvis Hymon and Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey has picked up over the last few games. The freshmen duo received minutes due to recent injuries to the starting five.
Hymon recorded his first double-double of his career with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Fitzpatrick-Dorsey scored 6 points, added 3 rebounds, and dished out 2 assists.
“We were all on our heels, (on this four-game losing streak) and we all just had to come together,” Hymon said.
With a favorable schedule ahead, it’s imperative for Ole Miss to get back on track if they want to reach their goal of making the NCAA Tournament.
Next Up
Ole Miss will participate in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge as they’ll face Kansas State (12-8, 2-6 Big 12) on the road on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Rebels recently fell to the Wildcats 61-58 in December 2013.
Quote Of The Game
“We needed a win and a breakthrough to get some confidence back,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to hold this together until Saiz gets back and then put us in a position to make a run down the stretch.”
Injury Update
Senior forward Martavious Newby returned to the court, after missing the last two games with a swollen eye. Newby added 7 points and recorded 9 rebounds.
Junior forward Sebastian Saiz will not play Saturday versus Kansas State as he is recovering from retina surgery.
Fun Facts
Stefan Moody scored over 20 points for the 14-straight game, which is the longest streak since John Stroud in 1980.
Bruce Pearl is 3-17 all time away from Auburn since becoming the head coach in 2014.
Ole Miss is now 11-1 when winning the rebounding battle. The Rebels out-rebounded Auburn 40-33.
