Ole Miss roars back from slow start to dismantle Alcorn State 79-43

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Reserves Kezza Giffa and Patton Pinkins scored 14 and 13 respectively and Mississippi beat Alcorn State 79-43 on Monday night.

James Scott scored 13 points and Malik Dia scored 12 and the pair each ripped 11 rebounds, doing heavy work after halftime.

Tycen Daniels scored 17 points for Alcorn State.

The Braves built a surprising 8-0 lead, and it wasn't until Koren Johnson made a deep 3-pointer with 13:56 left before halftime that Ole Miss even scored.

From there the baskets came in droves for Ole Miss because despite the Braves' 8-0 advantage, Alcorn State went scoreless for more than eight minutes while the Rebels reeled off 19 straight and were never threatened again.

The Rebels finished shooting 47% (31 of 66).

Ole Miss (8-5) ran its series record against the Braves to 6-0.

Alcorn State (1-11) now has dropped four straight. The Braves will start the season playing their first 15 games on the road. Alcorn State won't play at home until Jan. 17 when it faces Texas Southern.

Alcorn State continues its road tour when it opens Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Jackson State on Saturday.

Ole Miss travels to face Oklahoma on Saturday to start Southeastern Conference action.

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