Montana Grizzlies at Ole Miss Rebels

Burnett's 21 leads balanced Ole Miss past Montana, 86-81

Cullen Neal added 19 points, including five 3-pointers, Terence Davis scored 18 points, and Sebastian Saiz had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Sayeed Pridgett led Montana (1-5) with 19 points. Ahmaad Rorie added 18 points and Jack Lopez scored 17.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was pleased with his team's offense, but the Rebels' struggles on the defensive end were clearly at the forefront of his mind Thursday.

Ole Miss led by as many as 18 points midway through the second half, taking a 62-44 lead on Saiz's traditional 3-point play. Montana got as close as 81-76 in the final minute. However, Lopez missed a 3-pointer that would have pulled the Grizzlies within one possession, and the Rebels converted at the free throw line over the final 30 seconds to seal it.

"I'm happy we competed and I'm happy we found some grit and didn't give up," Montana coach Travis DeCuire said. "We could have easily laid down and lost by 25 or 30. We made some mental errors in the first half and the beginning of the second half that put us in that situation. Once we stopped making mistakes and started competing and crashing the glass, we out-played them in the last 10 minutes. But sometimes teams get a lead and they don't do what they're supposed to do either, but I did think we grew up a little bit today."

Ole Miss led by 12 at halftime after building a 14-point lead in the first half, thanks primarily to the 3-point shooting of Neal and Davis, each of whom hit three treys in the opening 20 minutes.

The Rebels shot 45.2 percent overall and made 11 of 26 from 3-point range.

"I'm pleased with us offensively," Kennedy said. "We're scoring in the high 80s consistently and we're doing it in an efficient manner. Turnovers continue to come down. If we eliminate some of the foolish ones, we're decent in that area. We just have to continue to work."

BIG PICTURE

Montana: The Grizzlies have been on the road since Nov. 14, and they showed some signs of fatigue at times Thursday, committing 19 turnovers and shooting just 38.4 percent from the field.

Ole Miss: Admission was free on Thursday in Oxford, and the Rebels drew a surprisingly large holiday crowd of 7,358 fans. At 5-1 with games against Middle Tennessee and Memphis coming up in the next eight days, the Rebels, who gave No. 11 Creighton a scare on Monday night in the Virgin Islands, have a chance to make some national noise with wins.

ROLE PLAYER: Davis' role increased on Thursday with Ole Miss guard Rasheed Brooks struggling. Brooks did not score in 19 minutes, going 0 for 6 from the field. Kennedy said Brooks has been distracted the past couple of days due to personal reasons. Davis played 24 minutes, many coming as a result of Brooks' struggles, and made 6 of 9 shots. Davis added five rebounds and an assist.

UP NEXT

Montana's road trip concludes Sunday afternoon at South Dakota.

Ole Miss plays host to Middle Tennessee Wednesday night.

How can I watch Montana vs. Ole Miss?

• TV Channel: Montana at Ole Miss 2021 College Basketball, week 3, is broadcasted on SECN+.
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