Ole Miss basketball defeats BYU in overtime of the Rady Children’s Invitational

It took overtime, but the No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels remained undefeated on the young season with a 96-85 win over the BYU Cougars on Thanksgiving during the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.

Ole Miss (6-0) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half of the game, but was able to cut that gap to 42-39 at halftime on Thursday. After a back-and-forth second half, the Rebels tied the game at 77 with 26 seconds left on a layup by guard Jaylen Murray, ultimately sending the game into overtime.

There the Rebels beat the Cougars 19:8 and secured the victory. Murray was responsible for nine of those 19 points and ultimately led the team with 28 points on the night. He was joined in double figures by Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis with 18 points each and Sean Pedulla with 13.

As a team, Ole Miss shot 48 percent from the field, 29 percent from three and 81 percent from the free throw line. Three of Ole Miss’ five shots from distance on Thursday came from Murray.

BYU countered by shooting 41 percent from the field on the night and 32 percent from three, and the Cougars matched Ole Miss’ mark of 81 in the charity stripe.

The win doesn’t make things any easier for Ole Miss on Friday in San Diego, as the Rebels will face No. 13 Purdue in a continuation of the Rady Children’s Invitational. The premiere date is set for 5:00 p.m. CT on FOX.