Razorbacks can’t overtake Ole Miss in loss to open SEC home play

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas made a late run at Ole Miss, cutting an 11-point deficit to six with 2:22 left, only to see the 23rd-ranked Rebels answer with a Mallik Dia 3-pointer to help secure a 73-66 victory Wednesday night at Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas led early and was up 27-18 after a Johnell Davis 3-pointer. From that point, Arkansas went cold and Ole Miss used a 12-3 run to tie the contest at 30. Arkansas regained a 3-point lead only to see Ole Miss’ leading scorer Sean Pedulla drain a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to make the score 33-33 at the break.

The Rebels scored first in the second half to take its first lead of the game and Boogie Fland answered with a basket. Davon Barnes immediately answered with a 3-pointer and Ole Miss never surrendered the lead the rest of the game.

Ole Miss led by as many as 11 after a Pedulla 3-poitner with 8:31 left but the Razorbacks kept battling and worked its deficit to eight with 6:40 remaining. The Rebels went back up 11 (67-55) with 4:54 left but Arkansas held Ole Miss to just one point over the next two minutes to trail by six (68-62).

Then, Dia hit his dagger 3-pointer to put Ole Miss up nine. Arkansas once again worked its deficit to six with 21 seconds left, but could not get any closer as Matthew Murrell’s free throw with eight ticks left put the game out of reach.

Dia led all scorers with 21 points and he grabbed eight rebounds. Pedulla, who was 3-of-4 from 3-point, finished with 16 points.

Adou Thiero led a quartet of Razorbacks in double figures with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Johnell Davis finished with 15 points and D.J. Wagner had 11. Boogie Fland had a solid stat line with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers.

Arkansas stays home to host No. 8 Florida on Saturday (Jan. 11). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard DJ Wagner against the Ole Miss Rebels at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-HitThatLine.com

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 33, Ole Miss: 33

• Arkansas opened the game with a 10-1 lead.
• The Hogs held the lead until a 4:30 drought and Ole Miss tied the game at 30 with 1:56 left.
• Arkansas answered with a Boogie Fland floater and a Karter Knox free throw. However, Ole Miss’ Sean Pedulla hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to tie the game at 33.
• Both teams were 4-of-12 from 3-point but Ole Miss was 7-of-11 at the line compared to Arkansas being 3-of-7.
• The teams combined for just four first-half turnovers, three by Arkansas and one by Ole Miss.
• Johnell Davis was 3-of-5 from 3-point range and led Arkansas with 11 points. Trevon Brazile added five rebounds and two assists.
• Malik Dia led Ole Miss with 11 points and five rebounds. Pedulla added nine points.
• This marked the first time this year that Arkansas was tied at the half.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Boogie Fland against the Ole Miss Rebels at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-HitThatLine.com

SECOND HALF: Ole Miss: 40, Arkansas 33

• This was the second time in as many games (and for the season) that Arkansas was out-scored in the second half.
• Ole Miss shot 52.2 percent in the second half compared to Arkansas shooting 31%.
• Ole Miss was also 45.5% (5-of-11) from 3-point compared to Arkansas going 1-of-11 (9.1%) from deep.
• Thiero scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half.
• Ole Miss had seven assists on 12 made baskets in the period.

Arkansas Razorbacks Adou Thiero against the Ole Miss Rebels at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. / Nilsen Roman-HitThatLine.com

GAME NOTES:

• For the fourth-straight game, Arkansas’ starting lineup was Boogie Fland, D.J. Wagner, Karter Knox, Adou Thiero and Jonas Aidoo.
• Arkansas won the opening tip. The Razorbacks have won the tip in 13 of 15 games this year.
• Boogie Fland scored the game’s points with a 3-pointer at 19:05.
• Trevon Brazile and Johnell Davis were Arkansas’ first subs.
• Arkansas still leads the all-time series, 52-35, but is just 18-12 versus Ole Miss in games played in Fayetteville.
• Since Arkansas joined the SEC, the Razorback lead in the series is now one game, 30-29. Ole Miss has won two straight in the series but as the Hogs have won 9 of the last 13 in the series.
• The Razorbacks are now 20-14 all-time in SEC home openers. Arkansas is now 4-5 when Ole Miss is the first home SEC game.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story