Jackson State Tigers vs Mississippi Rebels Box Score on Dec 10, 2020

Devontae Shuler scored 23 points and Ole Miss used a 20-0 first-half run to take control of its belated season opener and defeat Jackson State 80-45 on Thursday night in Oxford, Miss.

Shuler made all but one of his 10 shots, including all five of his 3-point attempts, and Khadim Sy added 11 points for the Rebels, who had their first four scheduled games canceled and just returned to practice Monday after a two-week hiatus due to COVID-19 issues.

The victory began a stretch of three games in five days for the Rebels.

Sy shot 5 of 6 from floor. A total of 12 Ole Miss players scored.

SWAC Preseason Player of the Year Tristan Jarrett scored 13 and Jayveous McKinnis added 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tigers. Jackson State shot just 30 percent (15 of 50), including 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Tigers fell to 0-2, playing their second game in three nights after seeing four games canceled due to COVID-19 issues.

Both teams started slowly on offense.

Jarrett's hoop gave Jackson State its only lead at 6-4 nearly four minutes into the game.

Romello White's three-point play put Ole Miss on top for good and started a 20-0 run that resulted in a 24-6 Rebels lead.

The run was reminiscent of an early second-half run that doomed the Tigers in their season opener Tuesday night. Mississippi State scored the first 16 points after halftime to take a 20-point lead on its way to an 82-59 victory.

During Ole Miss' run, Jackson State went more than eight minutes without scoring until Jarrett made another jumper.

White sank two free throws as Ole Miss pushed the lead to 29-8.

Shuler made back-to-back 3-pointers and another jumper as the Rebels expanded the lead to 41-12 heading into halftime.

Jackson State, which turned the ball over 17 times before the break, made 20 percent of its shots (5 of 25) and missed all five of its 3-point tries. Ole Miss made exactly half of its field goals (14 of 28) and 3-pointers (3 of 6) in the opening 20 minutes.

Overall, Ole Miss shot 47.5 percent from the floor and forced 26 turnovers.

--Field Level Media