JuJu Murray, No. 23 Ole Miss, hands BYU its first loss in overtime

PROVO – Richie Saunders got off to a good start in BYU’s first road test at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, California.

But Ole Miss’ Jaylen “JuJu” Murray ended up on a heater.

Murray scored a career-high 28 points with five rebounds and five assists, and the 23rd-ranked Rebels outscored BYU 19-8 in overtime to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season, 96-85, on Wednesday afternoon at Rady Children’s Invitational.

Saunders totaled 16 points, five rebounds and two steals for BYU, and five-star freshman Egor Demin scored 13 of his 16 points and four assists after halftime.

Kanon Catchings led BYU (5-1) with 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Fousseyni Traore provided the Cougars with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Dre Davis added 18 points and six rebounds for the Rebels (6-0), and Matthew Murrell had 18 points and two steals for Ole Miss, forcing 17 turnovers and turning them into 23 points on the other end.

“We weren’t really a turnover team this year, but the first time we faced a physical defense, we turned it over 17 times,” BYU coach Kevin Young told BYU Radio, crediting the “experience,” physical and To play more physically, he became a member of the athletic team for the first time in his tenure as the Cougars’ head coach.

Saunders gave the Cougars a 77-75 lead from the free throw line with 38 seconds left. But Murray answered right back with an off-balance layup and tied the game again 13 seconds later to force the Cougars’ first overtime since a 79-75 win over Dayton on Nov. 25, 2022.

Murray scored first in overtime and the Rebels used a 6-3 surge in overtime to take control for good.

Still, the Cougars struck first.

Midway through the first half, Saunders went on a 6-0 run to give the Cougars a 20-14 lead as the Wasatch Academy product scored 11 points and three rebounds on his first four field shots.

The 6-foot-5 junior hit a 3-pointer in eight minutes and added four rebounds and a steal to help the Cougars take an early lead in BYU’s first game, along with point guard Dallin Hall and forward Keba Keita to help.

Catches came together on his first four 3-point attempts of the first half as BYU shot 12 of 27 from the field, 7 of 18 from long range and had five assists to lead by as many as 10 points.

But Murray scored 10 points before halftime and Ole Miss scored 18 points off BYU’s 10 turnovers. The Rebels briefly tied the game twice in the final two minutes of the half, but Mihailo Boskovic gave the Cougars a 42-39 lead with one of two three-pointers in the first half.

Sean Pedulla tied the game after being fouled on a 3-point attempt just 12 seconds into the half, and the Rebels used an 8-2 start to the second half to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the to recapture the game.

BYU managed just three of its first 10 field goal attempts to open the half and struggled with Ole Miss’ physicality. Traore ended a nearly five-minute field goal drought to open the half, but the Cougars struggled to find consistency on offense.

“This is their identity; that’s how they play,” Young said of Ole Miss’ high-volume style. “I thought we fell into the trap early on, which was disappointing.”

With just over six minutes left, Demin cut the deficit to 66-63, and Traore tied the game at 69-63 with 3:24 left, and Demin and Trevin Knell followed with consecutive three-pointers as the two teams did in the final minute of the In regular time there was a draw to create the conditions for extra time.

“If anything,” Young said, “we kind of strayed from the person we were at the start of the second half.”

The Cougars will face North Carolina State in the third-place game of the Rady Children’s Invitational. The San Diego tipoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST on FOX.

Ole Miss will face No. 13 Purdue in the tournament’s immediately following championship game.