The Ole Miss Rebels took a gritty road win over South Carolina 72-68 on Wednesday night in a dog fight, gaining their first win over the Gamecocks since 2023 in the teams’ 50th all-time meeting.

Both teams came out firing early, but Ole Miss pulled away and stayed away in the first half, leading for just under 18 minutes behind the Rebels’ highest single-half shooting percentage of the season at 65 percent from the floor as well as going 6-of-9 from behind the arc, giving Ole Miss a 42-32 lead going into the break.

Some other highlights through the first half included Jaemyn Brakefiled surpassing Jason Smith in all-time scoring, putting him at 25th all-time in Ole Miss scorers. Matthew Murrell also surpassed current athletic director Keith Carter and Justin Reed, moving into seventh place all-time among Rebel scorers.

Another positive for Ole Miss was its ability to shoot from the charity stripe, going 6-of-7 opposed to South Carolina’s 8-of-15.

The second half started with the same intensity, but the scoring was not there through the first few minutes as Ole Miss maintained a nine-point lead through the first four minutes.

The Gamecocks stayed aggressive paired with some poor Ole Miss shooting, regaining their first lead since the opening two minutes with just under seven to play. Malik Dia quickly gave it back to Ole Miss, however, converting a tough layup for an and-one.

The Rebels hung on behind Malik Dia in the closing minutes that included 12 straight points from the big man, charging the Rebels’ late game energy on his way to a team-leading 18 points.

As a team, Ole Miss shot 45.5 percent from the field on Wednesday night, 61.5 percent from three and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. South Carolina, by comparison, shot 44 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three and 62.5 percent from the stripe.

Behind Dia in scoring for the Rebels were Brakefield with 14 points, Dre Davis with 12 and Murrell with 10.

Ole Miss has now captured back-to-back road wins and kept South Carolina winless in conference play. The Rebels will return to action on Saturday as they return home with hopes of splitting the season series with Mississippi State. Tip-off between the Rebels and Bulldogs is set for 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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