Following a season opening win over San Francisco, Memphis traveled to Oxford for its first road contest of the year. The Tigers fought hard for most of the night, but in the end, Ole Miss made too many shots and sent Memphis back to the bluff city with its first loss of the year.
The Rebels posed a tough test for the Tigers in their first road game of the season. Ole Miss entered the game averaging 87 points per game, and its offensive success continued against Memphis.
Penny Hardaway went with the same starting lineup he used against San Francisco, and they jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead before the Rebels got into a groove. Memphis struggled to come up with stops in the first 20 minutes, and Ole Miss shot 53.6 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from three.
The shooting success continued in the second half and the Rebels finished the game shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from deep to secure a 83-77 win. Four of the Rebels’ five starters scored in double figures, and French guard Ilias Kamardine led the team with 26 points.
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard relied on the starters most of the night, and all but one starter played 27 or more minutes.
The Rebels also did a nice job drawing fouls, and they finished the game with 33 free-throw attempts. Thierno Sylla and Julius Thedford both fouled out, and Zach Davis ended with four fouls.
On the other side, Penny Hardaway went with the same starting five that he debuted against San Francisco, but the big men struggled to produce in a second straight game.
Aaron Bradshaw finished the game with one point, two rebounds a turnover and a block in 20 minutes of action. Thierno Sylla ended the night with three points, five rebounds, an assist and two blocks, but he fouled out 3:40 left in the contest.
While the front court struggled, all three of the other starters finished in double-figures, and Curtis Givens led the team with 20 points and a pair of steals. Dug McDaniels added 15 points, and the 5-foot-11 point guard led the team with seven rebounds.
Ashton Hardaway was also impressive off the bench and finished with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. While the shot was falling for Hardaway, he struggled to knock down the three pointers and finished 1-for-4 from deep.
Despite the struggles from long range, the junior gave Memphis a nice boost off the bench and will be looked at to provide a spart through the non-conference slate.
Memphis will return home for another home game Sunday afternoon against UNLV and former head coach Josh Pastner. The Rebels have struggled to start the season and will enter FedExForum with a 1-2 record, including loses against UT Martin and Montana.