Tigers Fall Just Short at Ole Miss, 83-77
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Memphis men’s basketball team came up just shy in its first road test of the season, falling to Ole Miss, 83-77, Tuesday night at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
The Tigers (1-1) had four players score in double figures and finished with 20 assists to only seven turnovers, but the Rebels (3-0) rode a hot shooting night and a career performance from Ilias Kamardine to their third-straight win to open the season.
Kamardine scored a game-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting and knocked down 4-of-5 from three-point range to lead the Rebels. Ole Miss shot 51.9 percent from the field and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from deep, while also hitting 21-of-28 free throws to fend off several second-half Memphis rallies.
Memphis countered with an efficient offensive showing of its own, shooting 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor and assisting on 71 percent of its makes. Sophomore guard Curtis Givens III led the Tigers with a career-high 20 points, including 15 after halftime, on 7-of-14 shooting (3-of-7 from deep). He also grabbed a pair of rebounds and had two steals in 31 minutes.
Junior forward Ashton Hardaway provided a spark in both halves, finishing one point shy of his career high with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while dishing out a career-best four assists in 24 minutes.
Senior point guard Dug McDaniel continued his steady play as the team’s floor general, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a team-high 35 minutes. Sincere Parker also reached double figures with 10 points and four boards.
Memphis controlled several key categories - the Tigers won the rebounding battle, 33-32, and committed just seven turnovers to Ole Miss’ eight - but the Rebels’ perimeter shooting and a plus-seven night at the charity stripe proved to be the difference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers struck first - and fast. On the opening tip, Givens III stripped an Ole Miss guard and raced the other way for a layup, igniting the Memphis bench and setting an early tone. He followed moments later with his first three-pointer of the season as Memphis jumped out to a 12-7 lead.
But the Rebels quickly found their rhythm behind Kamardine, who caught fire midway through the half. The Ole Miss guard scored 16 of his 26 points before the break, hitting a pair of threes and several mid-range jumpers to push the Rebels in front.
Memphis continued to create quality looks through its ball movement - assisted by McDaniel and Hardaway - but Ole Miss closed the half on an 8-0 run, hitting back-to-back triples in the final 45 seconds to turn a one-possession game into a 42-33 halftime lead.
Hardaway led the Tigers with 11 first-half points, while McDaniel added eight before the break.
In the second half, both teams traded buckets for much of the first 12 minutes. Each time Memphis appeared poised to make a run, Ole Miss responded with timely shot-making from Kamardine and Kezza Giffa, who finished with 15 points.
Trailing by 11 with just under eight minutes remaining, the Tigers mounted a final push. Givens scored eight straight Memphis points to cut the deficit to 77-73 with 2:03 left. But after forcing a miss on the other end, Memphis couldn’t capitalize when Aaron Bradshaw missed a pair of free throws that could have trimmed the margin to two. Ole Miss converted at the line late to secure the win.
Still, Memphis fought to the final buzzer, forcing one last Ole Miss turnover with 2.6 seconds remaining.
POSTGAME NOTES
The Tigers used the starting lineup of Dug McDaniel, Curtis Givens III, Sincere Parker, Aaron Bradshaw and Thierno Sylla for the second-straight contest. Memphis has now dropped five straight games in Oxford, with its last road win in the series coming on Dec. 17, 2005.The Tigers still lead the all-time series, 30–17. Memphis dished 20 assists in the game compared to only seven turnovers. The seven miscues are the fewest for the Tigers since turning it over six times at Florida Atlantic on Feb. 25, 2024 – a stretch of 41 games. It took the Tigers 20 games last season before reaching the 20-assist mark. They ended up doing so five times in 2024-25, including a season-high 24 against UAB on Jan. 26. Curtis Givens III scored a season high 20 points with three triples. The Memphis native also added two rebounds, two dimes and a team-high two steals. Ashton Hardaway produced the second-best scoring output of his career with 16 points in 24 minutes. He was one point shy of the 17 he put up against Michigan as a freshman Dug McDaniel controlled the offense with 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, while knocking down a pair of three balls. He’s averaging 7.5 assists over his first two games as a Tiger. Sincere Parker also finished in double figures with 10 points, four boards and two assists in 23 minutes. Over a 25-minute stretch between the first and second halves, Ole Miss did not commit a turnover, limiting any runs Memphis could muster. The Tigers outrebounded Ole Miss, 33-32.Last season, Memphis was 20-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
UP NEXT
Memphis will get a few days off before returning to the court Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. when the Tigers host former head coach Josh Pastner and his UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to FedExForum on ESPN.