Ole Miss Basketball: Canadian Hoops Tour, So Far So Good
While many Ole Miss fans are preparing for the beginning of football season the Ole Miss basketball team is touring Canada and have done well so far.
Ole Miss football may be just digging into fall camp but Ole Miss basketball is already competing on the hardwood. No, it may not be regular season play and yes it may only be a four game tour through Canada but it is competition. It is also a measuring stick of sorts for coach Kermit Davis and his staff. These four games are not only a chance for Davis to evaluate his roster but it also gives his players extra time to learn the Davis system. So far so good.
The Rebels were scheduled to play four games in Canada and halfway thru the tour they are now 2-0. Sunday Ole Miss basketball opened their Canadian Tour with a 102-61 win over McGill. The Rebels then followed up with a 84-77 comeback win over Concordia Monday. Where the Rebels rolled in their first game under Davis over McGill they struggled early in the following game against Concordia. We’ll look at both games by the stats.
Game 1: McGill
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In the game against the McGill Redmen, leading all Rebels was senior Terrence Davis who had 20 points. Davis also had 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Junior Brian Halums followed with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Senior Bruce Stevens had 13 points and 3 rebounds. Sophomore Devontae Shuler had 11 points while freshman KJ Buffen added 10 points. Shuler added 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot while Buffen had 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Junior Brein Tyree followed with 8 points and also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Freshmen Blake Hinson and Luis Rodriguez each had 7 points. Hinson also had 1 board and 1 assists while Rodriguez had 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
Junior Dominik Olejniczak scored 4 points and had 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 blocks while junior Zach Naylor also scored 4 points. Naylor also had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Rounding out the scoring for the Rebels were freshman Franco Miller Jr and senior DC Davis who each had two points. Miller Jr also had 1 assist while Davis had 1 board.
Evaluation
Anytime you win a 102-61 game there are obvious shining spots. In this case we saw the Rebels bench get involved and produce. In total there were 12 Rebels who scored points with 5 scoring double digits. This is a Rebels team which can run the court and score points in bunches. As a team they played remarkably well in their first real contest. The Rebels shot 58% from the field while going 36.8% from the arc. The Rebels shot 60% from the charity stripe. The impressive part of this team was the defense and it would be needed for the next game.
Game 2: Concordia
Against Concordia leading all Rebels was junior Brein Tyree who scored 23 points. Tyree also 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Next up was senior Terrence Davis who turned out 18 points. Davis also had 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals in the game. Junior Dominik Olejniczak added 14 points to go with 5 boards. Freshman Blake Hinson had 12 points while also getting 5 boards and 1 assist. Sophomore Devontae Shuler had 9 points while senior Bruce Stevens added 4 points. Shuler had 3 rebounds 2 assists and 1 steal while Stevens had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Rounding out the scoring was freshman KJ Buffen who had 2 points, 6 boards and 1 steal.
Evaluation
First, lets set the record straight. Concordia is not a bad team. They are tough and very physical and it showed in the numbers especially in the first half. Concordia was good enough to limit the Rebels to just 35 points in the first half. However, Davis and the Rebels adjust defensively to a 1-3-1 in the second half and shut down Concordia holding the Stingers to only 32 points. The Rebels offense came on late and managed to close out the rally for the win. As a team the Rebels shot 50.8% from the field while only shooting 26.7% from 3-point range. The Rebels shot 66.7% from the field. It was a tough win but the Rebels got it.
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Next up for Ole Miss basketball will be another very good team. Tonight the Rebels head to Ottawa to take on Carleton. We all wish coach Davis and Rebels hoops good luck in the contest tonight. Hotty Toddy!