Jason Smith || Sports Editor
The key to beating Ole Miss (23-10) this season has not been a secret.
Limit Terrico White and Chris Warren and force the Rebels’ secondary players to step up and beat you.
Josh Pastner and Memphis knew this, but could not find a way to limit White, Warren or the rest of the Rebels’ offensive attack as Ole Miss knocked off their Mid-South rivals 90-81 Friday.
Ole Miss’ Zach Graham asserted himself on both ends of the floor, finishing the game with 19 points and going 6-of-7 from the field.
Trevor Gaskins, who has struggled shooting throughout the season, also stepped up for the Rebels with 10 points. Gaskins hit two big three-pointers to thwart Memphis comeback attempts and hit his free throws down the stretch to help preserve the Rebel victory.
“Everybody needs a third option,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said. “We knew coming in their attack defensively was to change and confuse. It works sometimes, but I thought we really settled in and got aggressive and just played basketball and tried to attack the open areas.”
Memphis successfully frustrated Chris Warren Friday night, but the junior still scored 13 points and hit 1-of-6 from three-point range, extending his mark to 43 consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
The bigger Memphis guards held Warren to 25 percent from the field, but the play of the Rebels’ supporting cast and a second impressive performance from Terrico White in as many games helped the Rebels.
White had struggled with consistency with his jump shot entering the NIT, and proved that he has regained his confidence after scoring 21 points against the Tigers.
White dropped 27 against the Troy Trojans in the first game of the NIT.
The Tigers (24-10) could not find an answer on the defensive end to cool down White, who shot 6-of- 11 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
While White paced the Rebels offensively, his performance on the defensive end of the court proved dividends for the Rebels.
White drew the task of guarding the Tigers leading scorer Elliot Williams.
With constant pressure on Williams, the Tigers’ leading scorer (17.9 ppg) finished the game with 11 points.
White and the Rebels’ defense limited Williams to three points with four minutes remaining in the game.
Ole Miss has now won six of their last seven games and advances to the quarterfinal round of the NIT where they will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders Tuesday at the Tad Pad for a trip to New York City and the NIT final four.
“We have no one to blame but ourselves (for failing to make the NCAA tournament),” Kennedy said. “We didn’t get it done, not just against Tennessee but any one of the games we lost over the course of the season. I’d love to be able to go back and find a way to re-gather a couple of possessions. But now what we’ve got is an opportunity to try to continue to play. We’ve got one senior (DeAundre Cranston). He’s never been to New York City and we’re trying to get him there.”
