OXFORD — There were no fireworks and little drama Saturday afternoon.
That was exactly what Kermit Davis wanted in his debut as Ole Miss men’s basketball coach in a 90-64 victory against Western Michigan at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
“I’m really pleased. Really pleased. We played with energy, shared the ball and got on them defensively,” Davis said. “We got off to a good start and took a well-coached team out of what they wanted to do.”
Terence Davis scored 17 points to lead four in double figures for the Rebels (1-0), who led 43-22 at halftime and by as many as 29 points in the second half. Breein Tyree, Devontae Shuler, and D.C. Davis scored 14, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
Jared Printy and Josh Davis led Western Michigan (1-1) with 17 and 11 points, respectively. Seth Dugan added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
The Broncos trailed 30-8 in the opening 12 minutes and never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
“This was a necessary, but painful lesson,” Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins said. “They had 39 points off turnovers and their
athleticism and intensity was too much for us to match in the first half.
“I was proud we played hard and battled in the second half.”
Ole Miss shot 33-for-61 (54 percent) from the field, including 10-for-22 (46) from the 3-point line. Western Michigan was 20-for-49 (41) from the field and 7-for-19 (37) from 3-point range. Ole Miss outrebounded Western Michigan 31-28.
It was a solid opening win for Davis, who served 16 seasons at Middle Tennessee State and is the winningest coach in Sun Belt Conference history.
The Rebels flashed overwhelming stretches of defense, forcing 15 early turnovers and 24 overall. Successfully mixing a 1-3-1 zone and man-to-man schemes, Ole Miss blocked three shots and had 11 steals in the first half. In all, the Rebels scored 39 points off the turnovers.
Ole Miss’ 15 steals were the team’s most in six seasons. Western Michigan turned the ball over on eight of its first nine possessions, and the Rebels took advantage to jump out to a 20-4 lead that they would never surrender.
Ole Miss will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, to battle Butler at 7 p.m. Friday (FS2).
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