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Ole Miss went into hostile Coleman Coliseum on Tuesday night and left with a breakthrough victory over No. 4 Alabama, beating the Crimson Tide, 74-64.
The 21st-ranked Rebels improved to 15-2 overall and stayed unbeaten in the SEC at 4-0. In the process, Ole Miss handed Alabama its first SEC loss of the season, as the Crimson Tide fell to 14-3 and 3-1 in the conference.
Junior forward Malik Dia led the Rebels’ attack, scoring a game-high 23 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Dia made his biggest impact on the glass, devouring 19 rebounds to go with 2 blocked shots. Ole Miss had 4 other players score in double figures in a balanced attack that was too much for Alabama, which let a 36-32 halftime lead go up in smoke at home.
The Rebels only shot 39% from the field, which is usually not good enough to win a road game in conference. But Ole Miss was clutch at the free throw line, making 14 of 16 from the charity stripe. The Rebels were stingy on defense, forcing a whopping 21 turnovers.
Ole Miss held Alabama star Mark Sears to just 11 points. Sears only took 8 shots (making 2) in 39 minutes. Sears didn’t get any help offensively, either, as he was the only Crimson Tide starter to reach double figures. Sophomore guard Aden Holloway led Alabama in scoring with 15 points off the bench, but it wasn’t enough.
Ole Miss looks to keep the momentum going on Saturday night, when it stays on the road and faces rival Mississippi State. Alabama will try to bounce back, but it won’t be easy, as the Crimson Tide head to Lexington to face Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
