The court was stormed at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford as second-half heroics by Jackson native Jaemyn Brakefield carried Ole Miss to a thrilling 78-76 victory over No. 4 Tennessee.
The senior fittingly showed out in his final home game as a Rebel, scoring 19 points in the second half and hitting a go-ahead putback that ultimately wrapped the contest in red and blue.
“I love him. I love the way he plays. I love his game,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said of Brakefield. “He’s a terrific player, and he had his way with us.”
The Rebels (21-9, 10-7 SEC) won in historic fashion in the midweek outing over the Volunteers (24-6, 11-6 SEC), who had triumphed in seven of their eight most recent matchups. The victory for Ole Miss marked the first time in program history that a Rebel team had beaten multiple top-five foes in a single season. The other was a 74-64 win over then-No. 4 Alabama on the road.
Looking ahead, the big win plays an integral role in Ole Miss’ efforts to pursue favorable seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. As things stand, the Rebels are sitting comfortably in March Madness discussions and are predicted to be in the No.7-8 seeding range.
Game Recap
Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray got things started with a layup, and it was off to the races in the arena. Both squads traded blows early in the half, but Tennessee began to separate on the scoreboard by hitting wide-open three-pointers. At the 12-minute mark, the Volunteers held a 21-14 lead courtesy of a Darlinstone Dubar layup.
Murray hit a three to work the Rebels back into closer contention, though the three-ball was falling for the visitors. Following triples by Igor Milicic, Jr. and a red-hot Chaz Lanier, Tennessee claimed a 29-20 advantage with 6:28 to work with.
Ole Miss led a 9-0 run that was kickstarted by a Malik Dia three and rubberstamped by a deep shot from Dre Davis. Rebel forward Mikeal Brown-Jones hit a pair of free throws to put his team back on top with under five minutes until the midway break.
From there, Tennessee closed out stronger. A shot from behind the arc by Jahmai Mashack put the Volunteers ahead 41-36 at the intermission. Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler had a quiet zero points but a loud nine assists in the first half. Dia led the Rebels in scoring with 12 points.
A three-point play from Felix Okpara, made possible by Dia picking up his third foul, opened up second-half scoring, giving the Volunteers an early eight-point lead. Those were the only points scored in the first three minutes back on the court.
Davis hit a layup for Ole Miss to kickstart a 6-0 run that knotted things up on the scoreboard. The pendulum then swung in the road team’s favor when Jordan Gainey was money from deep to give Tennessee a five-point buffer at the 13:17 mark. Back-to-back dunks by Okpara extended that advantage to seven. Meanwhile, Ole Miss was on a two-minute scoring drought.
Then, Brakefield stepped up, scoring 15 of Ole Miss’ next 17 points and converting a trio of and-one opportunities in the process as he showcased his unique skill set to get to the basket. With 5:11 on the clock, the ballgame was tied 66-66.
BRAKE 💪@Jaemyn1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/1uYo9cJhC4
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 6, 2025
At that point, Ole Miss had new life and a viable shot at ending its home finale on a high note. Another Brakefield layup later, Ole Miss was up 76-72 with 53 seconds left in regulation. Disaster ensued for Chris Beard’s group when Milicic nailed a three-pointer and simultaneously drew a foul — Davis’ fifth of the matchup — and sunk his free throw to even out the scoreboard.
Beard called a timeout with 26 seconds on the game clock and 16 seconds on the shot clock. After the quick break, Pedulla attempted to seal the contest with a go-ahead three reminiscent of the one he made four days ago in a win over Oklahoma.
Nonetheless, Pedulla’s look was no good, but Rebel guard Davon Barnes crashed to the basket and tipped the ball back to none other than Brakefield, who landed the putback. Rick Barnes called a timeout with three seconds to work with. A designed jumper for Milicic was unsuccessful as the buzzer sounded.
Impact Players
Jaemyn Brakefield was undoubtedly the MVP of the midweek showdown, logging 19 points on an efficient 8-9 from the field. Dre Davis had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Malik Dia had 13 points, while Sean Pedulla had six assists.
For Tennessee, Jordan Gainey topped the stat sheet with 17 points. Chaz Lanier scored 15 points. Zakai Zeigler had eight points and an eye-popping 15 assists.
Deciding Factor
Rebounding, one of Ole Miss’ weakest spots this year, ended up favoring the Rebels. The home team hauled in 37 boards, 15 of which were grabbed on the offensive glass.
Ole Miss also won the turnover battle, giving the ball away three fewer times than its opponent, which converted into seven bonus points on the scoreboard. Further, the Rebels were dominant in the paint. Ole Miss had 46 points down low, while Tennessee had 20.
Coach’s Comments
Chris Beard was quick to compliment his veteran players, particularly Brakefield, who carried the team on his back in the second half. The Rebel frontman especially lauded what he coined as “courage” by the senior forward in being aggressive offensively and taking ownership of such a grand moment.
“I thought [Brakefield] did a good job of not settling and recognizing the moment,” Beard said. “If you’re going to make those shots, you have to have the courage to take them. He did that tonight.”
Ole Miss is undefeated in the quintessential month of college basketball — March. Recognizing that his team’s placement in the upcoming NCAA Tournament could afford the group an easier path in the postseason, Beard considered tonight’s matchup a huge opportunity to boost the Rebels’ résumé in the eyes of the selection committee.
“Our guys understood the opportunity that we were playing for tonight,” Beard said. “We’ve never talked about making the [NCAA Tournament]. We’ve talked about trying to win the tournament. To do that, seeding is important.”
Next Up
Ole Miss will end the regular season at No. 5 Florida on Saturday. The contest will begin at 5 p.m. and will be aired on the SEC Network as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
