SAN DIEGO, Calif. - BYU suffered its first loss of the season on Thanksgiving afternoon, falling 96-85 in overtime to No. 23 Ole Miss at the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena in San Diego, Calif.
Richie Saunders and Kanon Catchings combined for 25 points in the first half, but it wasn’t enough as Ole Miss outscored the Cougars 57-43 after intermission. The Cougars connected on 12 3-pointers, marking the sixth straight game BYU has connected on 10 or more triples.
Five Cougars scored in double figures, including a team-high from Catchings who led the team in scoring for the first time in his career as the freshman tied a career-high with 17 points, 12 of those coming in the first half. He was 6-of-14 from the field, including five 3-pointers, which are tied for the eighth-most by a freshmen in program history.
Fousseyni Traore scored in double figures for the third straight game, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block. Saunders and Egor Demin also chipped in 16 points each.
First Half
Following a slow start where the Cougars missed their first two shots and turned the ball over twice, Catchings got BYU on the board with a 3-pointer from the left corner at 17:30 to make it 4-3. That triple sparked an 8-0 run for the Cougars that included an acrobatic left-handed layup from Saunders, followed by another 3-pointer from Catchings.
The Rebels responded with a 5-0 of their own to take the lead, 9-8, before Saunders connected on his first 3-pointer of the game. With the game tied at 14-all with a little over 14 minutes remaining in the first half, Saunders went on a personal 6-0 run to make it 20-14 heading into the second media timeout.
Mihailo Boskovic extended the run to 8-0 with a pair of free throws before Ole Miss's Matthew. Murrello sparked another 5-0 run for the Rebels to make it 22-19. Boskovic connected on his first 3-pointer in three games, followed by another Catchings three on the following possession. The freshman from Brownsburg, Ind. continued his hot start with his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to make it 31-21 heading into the media timeout.
Egor Demin made his first basket of the game with a reverse layup on an assist from Keba Keita to make it 35-25. Ole Miss scored 12 of the next 14 points to tie it at 37-all with less than two minutes remaining in the opening 20 minutes. Boskovic’s second triple was the final basket of the half as BYU went into halftime leading 42-39.
Second Half
Ole Miss scored the opening five points of the second half from the free throw line to retake the lead, 43-42, followed by five straight points from Demin, including his first 3-pointer of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from the Rebels had BYU behind 50-47 at the first media timeout.
Traore slipped on a pick-and-roll for an emphatic dunk cutting the deficit to 50-49 at the 15:44 mark. The Cougars would go without a basket for the more than five minutes as the Rebels pushed their lead to a game-high five, 55-50.
Fousseyni Traore with the POSTER! 💪 😱 @BYUMBB pic.twitter.com/56i7fgSoj8
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 29, 2024
It was 59-54 for Ole Miss when a Dallin Hall steal and dunk spearheaded a 5-0 run for the Cougars and reignited the crowd at LionTree Arena. On the next trip down, Demin made the extra pass to find Trevin Knell in the corner for his first three of the night, forcing an Ole Miss timeout.
the theft. the dunk. @DallinHHall
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 29, 2024
📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/mlRqOgVVxJ
The Rebels pushed the lead to five again, 66-61, with 5:43 remaining in regulation on a layup from Sean Pedulla before Traore scored six straight points to tie the game at 69-all. Following a Rebel turnover, Knell connected on his second 3-pointer of the game to give the Cougars the lead for the first time since the beginning of the half.
Demin pushed the Cougars' lead to four, 75-71, with the Rebels responding like they had all game to tie the game two possessions later. Saunders made both of his free throws to retake the lead, but Ole Miss’s Jaylen Murray drove the lane to tie the game with 26 seconds on the clock. BYU had a chance to win it in regulation, but Traore’s midrange jumper bounced off the rim.
Overtime
The Cougars were unable to carry the momentum to overtime as they went 2-of-11 from the field, while the Rebels were 13-of-13 from the charity stripe to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season.
BYU returns to action tomorrow, Nov. 29, when the Cougars face NC State on day two of Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena in San Diego, Calif.