Joiner leads Ole Miss to victory over No. 18 Memphis

OXFORD, Miss. (Ole Miss Athletics) – No. 18 Memphis nearly erased what had been an 11-point Ole Miss second half lead, but the Rebels never faltered and closed out strong at the free throw line to cap off an impressive 67-63 upset over the Tigers in front of an electric crowd of 8,629 at SJB Pavilion on Saturday morning.

Ole Miss (6-2) frustrated a Memphis (5-3) squad that entered as one of the elite defending units in the nation, ranking No. 1 in the NCAA in blocks and No. 19 in opposing field goal percentage prior to tipoff. Defense was the name of the game as both teams shot a combined 37 percent, but the Rebels were also beneficiaries of timely shooting, two bombastic showings from Jarkel Joiner and Matthew Murrell, and – most importantly – a 23-of-29 clip from the charity stripe that helped hold their lead over the Tigers down the stretch.

“We beat a really hard playing team today,” said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis. “I thought Memphis competed at a real high level. Wasn’t the prettiest offensive game on both sides, I think both teams really competed and guarded really well. I have a lot of respect for how hard they play, the shots weren’t easy at all. I just thought our guys had a great game.”

The Rebels were paced offensively from two stellar performances from Oxford native Jarkel Joiner and Memphis native Matthew Murrell, who combined for 39 points, 40 percent shooting, five threes made and a 14-of-17 mark from the free throw line. Joiner was clutch every time his number was called, ending the day with 20 points and a season-high in both rebounds (8) and steals (5) – as well as a near-perfect 7-of-8 clip from the free throw line. Joiner has now scored in double-digits in all eight games this season, as well as 12 in a row and 14 of his last 15 dating back to last season.

“(The win) felt good man, and not just for me but for all of us,” Joiner said. “We knew how big this was, and beat a ranked team at home. Most definitely, that crowd was amazing. They had our back the whole time, they didn’t doubt us, and we just kept executing what Coach was calling from the sideline defensively and offensively, and it was a big one. I am glad we came out with the W.”

Murrell’s offensive awakening continued to great effect for the Rebels on Saturday, as he blew by his career-high of 14 set this past Tuesday vs. Rider to end up with a new best of 19 points on a dynamite 4-of-9 three-point shooting effort that fired up the crowd at SJB Pavilion. Murrell was also clutch from the free throw line, going 7-of-9 overall, all coming in the second half. In his past two games, Murrell is averaging 16.5 points and is shooting 7-of-15 from beyond the arc after averaging 5.2 points per game and shooting 2-of-10 from three prior to the Rider game.

“This game definitely meant a little bit more for me just because I’m from the city of Memphis,” Murrell said. “I grew up around all of those guys and grew up playing against Coach Penny (Hardaway), so yeah, that was definitely a big game for me.”

The first half had high-energy, but no team truly separated, as the Rebels went into the break with a 30-26 lead after the teams shot a combined 21-of-56 in the opening period. A fastbreak Nysier Brooks (five points, six rebounds, three blocks) alley-oop in the opening minutes of the second half got the fans engaged, but it was a surprise three-pointer from junior Sammy Hunter at the 12:54 mark that sparked the Rebels on a key run that ended up deciding the game. Hunter was 0-for-5 from three entering today, as well as 7-of-31 in his career prior to Saturday.

Murrell followed with back-to-back threes, and Ole Miss used that fan energy to amount what ended up as a 22-9 run over the following 10 minutes. Memphis did not go quietly, though, ripping off a 10-2 run in the final minutes to pull within three with 44 seconds to play at 64-61. The remainder of the game would be settled on the free throw line, with Nysier Brooks hitting three Rebel ones in that stretch – including two crucial shots with 10 seconds to play that put the Rebels up for good and sealed victory.

The Rebel defense fought fire-with-fire against the nationally ranked Tigers, forcing an Ole Miss opponent season-high 20 turnovers that turned into 20 points and stifling standouts Emoni Bates (seven points, four rebounds) and Jalen Duren (two points, four rebounds) to a combined 9 points. Ole Miss was also smart with the basketball on the offensive end, not allowing the ferocious Memphis shot blocking defense to affect the game by keeping them to a season-low three blocks.

For Ole Miss, the Rebels are now not only on a three-game win streak, but are also on the first four-game win streak against ranked opponents since 2002-03. Today’s win joins three from 2020-21 against No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2, 2021; 52-50), No. 10 Missouri (Feb. 10, 2021; 80-59) and No. 24 Missouri (Feb. 23, 2021; 60-53). The last time Ole Miss won four in a row came across the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, with wins against No. 6 Florida (Feb. 16, 2002; 68-51), No. 6 Alabama (March 3, 2002; 84-56), No. 23 LSU (Jan. 18, 2003; 67-57) and No. 15 Alabama (Jan. 21, 2003; 76-57).

The Rebels now have a week off before traveling to Atlanta for a neutral site showdown with Western Kentucky on December 11.