UCF’s late bid is rejected by undefeated Ole Miss
After a last-second block by Allen Flanigan, Ole Miss was able to remain in the elite group as the Rebels defeated host UCF 70-68 on Sunday afternoon in Orlando, Florida. Ole Miss (9-0) was one of seven unbeaten schools following Princeton’s defeat earlier in the day. With 52 seconds remaining, Ole Miss led by six, but UCF (6-3) closed the gap to one point thanks to three points from Marchelus Avery and two free throws from Shemarri Allen (14 points). With 2.2 seconds remaining, Darius Johnson (a game-high 25 points) made one foul shot to cut the deficit to two points after Ole Miss had regained a three-point lead. He then forced a steal under the basket on Flanigan’s inbounds pass.
After Jaylin Sellers’ layup was blocked by Flanigan, Avery made a game-winning putback, and UCF’s time ran out.
Flanigan finished with seven rebounds, five steals, and eighteen points. Jaylen Murray scored ten points, Matthew Murrell scored twelve, and TJ Caldwell scored fourteen. With one swatted shot, Jamarion Sharp now has 300 blocked shots in his career. The 7-foot-5 center made NCAA history by becoming the 112th player to accomplish the feat. UCF made only 36.8% of its field goals, compared to Ole Miss’ 44.4 percent. The Rebels are outrebounded 39–29 by the Knights. With almost 21 points per game, Sellers leads UCF in scoring. He added 11 points and four steals. Omar Payne had two blocks and ten rebounds. Johnson had five steals
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Johnson scored 11 of his team’s points in the first ten minutes of the game, tying the score at eighteen. As the new Big 12 member went toe-to-toe with the SEC team, the guard made four of his seven shots go, including two long range attempts. With layups from Austin Nunez and Flanigan in addition to a three-pointer from Murrell, Ole Miss went on a 7-0 run that lasted 1:26, while UCF failed to score from the field for 4:31. The Rebels now had a 30-23 lead. Murray scored just three points in six minutes for Ole Miss, who led the team in scoring with a career-high 26 points before picking up two early fouls. Nevertheless, Ole Miss led 37–30 at the half. Johnson scored 15 of his team’s 30 points by the end of the half.
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Avery’s deep ball from the left wing at 10:52 in the second quarter gave UCF its first lead of the half, 46-45, capping a 7-0 run. In the five career meetings between the two schools, the Knights have lost four of them. All Rights Reserved —Field Level Media Field Level Media 2023
