Ilias Kamardine scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first half while leading Ole Miss to an 83-77 victory over Memphis on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss.
A senior guard from Marseille, France, Kamardine made 11 of 14 field-goal attempts. Kezza Giffa added 15 points and five assists for the Rebels (3-0), and Malik Dia contributed 13 points and six rebounds.
Memphis (1-1) was led by Curtis Givens III, who scored 20 points. Ashton Hardaway, the son of Tigers coach Penny Hardaway, had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting off the bench. Dug McDaniel added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Ole Miss did not trail in the second half, although Memphis made a late run to trim the deficit to four points twice in the final 2:03.
The Rebels led 70-59 following a basket by Giffa with 7:37 to go before Memphis began chipping away.
Midway through the first half, the game was tied at 17 following a basket by McDaniel.
Then the Tigers hit a cold spell. They didn’t score for the next 3 1/2 minutes, and Ole Miss pulled ahead 23-17.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Rebels in the closing 45 seconds — one by Travis Perry and the other by Giffa — allowed Ole Miss to take a 42-33 lead into halftime. The nine-point advantage represented the largest of the half for either team.
Kamardine scored nine straight Ole Miss points at one stage late in the first half. Ashton Hardaway had 11 first-half points for the Tigers.
The Rebels’ AJ Storr, a Kansas transfer, finished with 10 points, including two key free throws with 1:28 to play in the game. He entered the night leading Ole Miss with an average of 18.5 points per game.
Memphis was seeking its first win in Oxford, Miss., in the rivalry since Dec. 17, 2005. The home side has won the teams’ past seven matchups dating back to 2016.
–Field Level Media
