ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Tye Fagan scored 20 points against his former school, Jaemyn Brakefield and Austin Crowley had career highs of 19 and 18 points, respectively, and short-handed Mississippi defeated Georgia 85-68 on Saturday.
That trio came through in the absence of the Rebels' top three scorers, Jarkel Joiner, Daeshun Ruffin and Matthew Murrell. Joiner and Murrell were sidelined with flu-like symptoms. Ruffin is out for the season after a knee injury suffered against LSU on Feb. 1.
Fagan, who played three seasons at Georgia, had five assists as did Crowley and Luis Rodriguez with Rebels committing only seven turnovers. Nysier Brooks added 10 points and six rebounds.
Braelen Bridges scored 17 points with five assists, Kario Oquendo added 14 points and Jabri Abdur-Rahim 11 for Georgia.
In a meeting between the SEC's two last-place teams, Ole Miss (13-14, 4-10) snapped a four-game losing streak and ended a three-game skid against the Bulldogs (6-21, 1-13), who lost their seventh straight.
After scoring the final seven points of the first half to take a 42-38 lead, the Rebels got the first four points of the second half and kept the lead, going up by as many as 20 late. Ole Miss shot 56%, made 9 of 21 from the arc and outscored Georgia 20-7 off turnovers.
Georgia assistant Wade Mason was absent after multiple reports said he was suspended following an altercation with Director of Player Development Brian Fish at halftime of the Bulldogs' game at LSU on Wednesday.
The university released a statement Saturday saying : “There have been various media reports related to UGA Athletics personnel ranging from completely inaccurate to incomplete and premature. The incident in question was reported properly as required by university policies and is under review. We will comment if and when appropriate.”
Georgia is at Texas A&M on Tuesday. Ole Miss is at Auburn on Wednesday.
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