GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Ole Miss men's basketball team (21-10, 10-8 SEC) dropped its regular season finale at No. 5 Florida 90-71 Saturday night. The Gators (27-4, 14-4 SEC) were driven by 49.2 percent team shooting and 23 points from Walter Clayton Jr.
Florida would lead by as many as 10 in the first half but Ole Miss trimmed the deficit to 38-31 at the break. The Gators would shoot an even 50.0 percent across the first 20 minutes of action, including seven triples.
The Rebels struggled to find an offensive rhythm but continued to chip away at the Florida lead. Sean Pedulla led Ole Miss with 10 first half points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Florida would win the first four minutes of the second half, extending their lead to 14 at the under 16 media timeout. The lead would increase to 18 at the under 12 break.
Ole Miss would continue to battle but could not cool off the Gators second-half shooting.
Pedulla led the way for the Rebels with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Jaylen Murray also recorded double digit points for Ole Miss with 10.
Ole Miss will return home and gear up for the SEC tournament beginning Wednesday March 12-16, in Nashville. Ole Miss will be the No. 8 seed and will play Thursday at 12 p.m. CT against the winner of No. 9 Arkansas and No. 16 South Carolina.
NOTABLES
- Sean Pedulla recorded his sixth 20 plus point performance of the season.
- Malik Dia led Ole Miss with eight rebounds marking his 13th game this season leading the team on the glass.
- OIe Miss now has 268 total steals on the season, good for the 5th-most in a single season in program history.
