Senior Stefan Moody led four Rebels in double figures with 29 points as Ole Miss rolled past Louisiana Tech 99-80 to give head coach Andy Kennedy his 200th career victory at Ole Miss.
The Rebels set two goals prior to Southeastern Conference play and both goals were accomplished Tuesday night.
“We’re trying to get some help for Stefan Moody and we’re trying to get better as a team,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “I thought we did both of those things tonight.”
Moody added four assists to lead Ole Miss, who placed three others in double figures. The win was the fifth straight for the Rebels, who improved to 8-2.
Rasheed Brooks added 20 points for the Rebels, hitting 8 of 10 from the field, including four 3-point shots. Marcanvis Hymon and Tomasz Gielo added 14 and 13 points, respectively, and the Rebels led 52-40 at halftime.
“I had a little slump and I was kind of down on myself, but I went back to the gym and put up a lot more shots,” Brooks said. “Just started playing with confidence. AK (Kennedy) told me to trust it. Trust my shot. Trust the work.”
Ole Miss shot 37 of 65 (57 percent) from the field, including 12 of 26 (46 percent) from 3-point range, and led by as many as 27 points.
Louisiana Tech (8-2) never got closer than 11 points in the second half.
“When you make shots, that makes everything else you do look good. It was nice to see players other than No. 42 (Moody) make shots,” Kennedy said.
“When you make shots, you’re able to beat a quality team and Louisiana Tech is a quality team.”
Erik McCree led Louisiana Tech (8-2) with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Hamilton had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds as Jacobi Boykins and Derric Jean added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Ole Miss, leading 28-27, used runs of 12-2 and 7-0 in the final eight minutes of the first half to build what became an insurmountable lead.
The Rebels outscored Louisiana Tech 24-13 during that stretch, highlighted by 3-point shots from Anthony Perez, Gielo and Brooks.
Ole Miss shot 37 of 65 (57 percent) from the field, including 12 of 26 (46 percent) from 3-point range, and led by as many as 27 points. The Bulldogs finished 27 of 62 (44 percent) from the field and 8 of 24 (33 percent) from 3-point range.
The Rebels out rebounded Louisiana Tech 36-31, led by Sebastian Saiz with 15. Both teams finished with 11 turnovers and eight steals.
“We’ve gotten better and that’s reflected in the shooting tonight,”
Kennedy said. “It’s simple. When you miss shots, you’re tight on everything you do and when you make shots, you get quality wins and that’s five in a row.”
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