Central Arkansas Bears vs Mississippi Rebels Box Score on Dec 14, 2020

Devontae Shuler scored a game-high 20 points Monday night and Mississippi's defense hassled Central Arkansas into 22 turnovers in a 68-54 non-conference win in Oxford, Miss.

Luis Rodriguez and Robert Allen each added 12 points for the Rebels (3-0), who were playing their third game in five days.

Ole Miss was somewhat ragged offensively, making only 33.8 percent of its field goals and going 4 of 25 on 3-pointers. The Rebels, however, more than made up for it with defense.

Coach Kermit Davis said after a Saturday night win over UNC Wilmington that he felt Ole Miss could be an elite defensive team. The Rebels showed signs of that against the Bears (0-5), allowing them to make only five field goals in the first half and shoot just 35.4 percent for the night.

Rylan Bergersen had 14 points to pace Central Arkansas, which has played all its games on the road.

The Bears' biggest issue was taking care of the ball and then limiting the damage. The Rebels created a whopping 27-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

Ole Miss' lead did not dip below 12 in the second half and peaked at 20 on two occasions in the final six minutes.

Ole Miss wasted little time establishing the game's tone. Shuler drove to the basket on the opening possession, attracted a foul and sank two free throws. That initiated a 13-4 run over the first 4:37 that Austin Crowley capped with a jumper.

Shuler's jumper at the 8:52 mark expanded the lead to 10 for the first time at 21-11, forcing the first of three timeouts Central Arkansas coach Anthony Boone used in the half. None of those timeouts could fix a nine-minute stretch where the Bears failed to make a field goal.

The margin grew as high as 18 with 3:28 left in the half when Shuler canned his second 3-pointer. But Central Arkansas was able to make a decent spurt to end the half, getting a 3-ball from Bergersen just before time expired to pull within 35-23.

--Field Level Media