The University of Mississippi Athletics
Monday, November 2
Oxford, MS
7:30 p.m. (CT)
Ole Miss
1-0,0-0SEC
99
vs
58
Alcorn State
0-1,0-0SWAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcorn | 31 | 27 | 58 |
| Ole Miss | 52 | 47 | 99 |
11/2/2026 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi men's basketball team opened its season with a 99-58 home victory over Alcorn State.
Ole Miss (1-0, 0-0 SEC) smothered the Alcorn State (0-1, 0-0) offense, forcing 26 turnovers in the win. Senior Adam "Budd" Clark led the Rebels with 17 points, while sophomore Patton Pinkins finished with 16. Clark also led the team with seven assists.
The Rebels opened the game with a 6-0 run, forcing three Alcorn State turnovers in the first three minutes. Sophomore Roman Siulepa put Ole Miss on the board with a pair of free throws before Corey Stephenson and Clark added the first two field goals of the night.
Ole Miss continued to build its advantage, with Pinkins knocking down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13. Siulepa followed with a tough finish at the rim before Stephenson added a two-handed dunk off a steal. Clark capped a 7-0 Rebel run with a layup to put Ole Miss ahead by 18.
Senior Ben Henshall helped push the lead to 20 with three consecutive free throws, while sophomore Christian Brown and senior Santiago Trouet each converted three-point plays to keep the Rebels in control.
After Alcorn State put together a 6-0 run, Trouet answered with a 3-pointer off an assist from Clark. Pinkins followed with a pair of 3-pointers, including one off an assist from Clark, to help Ole Miss maintain its comfortable advantage.
Pinkins continued to lead the Rebel offense, finding Yohance Connor on the fast break for a basket in the closing seconds of the half. Pinkins led all Rebels with 14 points through the first 20 minutes, while senior Ilias Kamardine paced Ole Miss with four assists.
Ole Miss took a 52-31 lead into halftime.
The Rebels continued to control the game coming out of the break, with Pinkins knocking down a pair of free throws to open the second-half scoring. Kamardine followed with his first 3-pointer of the night off an assist from Trouet to extend the Rebel advantage to 57-31.
The Rebel defense continued to make life difficult for the Braves, forcing 17 turnovers just over halfway through the contest. Clark found Brown down low for a two-handed slam, giving Ole Miss its largest lead of the game at 60-31.
After a three-minute field-goal drought, Stephenson ended the stretch with a two-handed dunk off a Clark assist. Stephenson added another basket on the following possession to push the Rebel lead to 30.
Brown continued to make an impact inside, finishing through contact for a three-point play before knocking down the free throw. Brown added back-to-back field goals shortly after, while Clark connected on a pull-up jumper to cap a 6-0 Ole Miss run and extend the lead to 32.
Siulepa drove to the basket and finished in the paint to keep the Rebels rolling. Ole Miss connected on four consecutive field-goal attempts to take an 83-50 lead at the under-eight-minute media timeout.
Clark continued to distribute the ball, finding Trouet for a dunk to record his sixth assist of the night and push the Rebel advantage to 37. Trouet added another finish in the paint to put Ole Miss over the 90-point mark with just over four minutes remaining.
The Rebels maintained control for the remainder of the contest, rolling to a 99-58 victory over Alcorn State in their home opener.
Postgame Notes: Alcorn State
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Budd Clark led the Rebel offense with a team-high 17 points (7-12 FG) and a team-high seven assists.
- Clark entered the game nine assists shy of 500 career assists. (498)
- Clark made his 100th consecutive and career start.
- Clark has 45 career games with 10+ points and 5+ assists.
- Santiago Trouet stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points (6-8 FG), seven rebounds, five assists.
- Patton Pinkins recorded 16 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range (team-high), three rebounds, and three steals.
- Corey Stephenson added 10 points (4-7 FG), four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
- Roman Siulepa notched nine points (5-7 FT), three rebounds, a block and a steal in just 13 minutes of action.
- Christian Brown registered a career-high 12 points (5-6 FG) and four rebounds in nine minutes.
- Consecutive starts: Budd Clark (100), Ilias Kamardine (36), Roman Siulepa (34), Corey Stephenson (32) and Patton Pinkins (4).
- Head coach Chris Beard picked up his 297th career victory in the NCAA (all divisions).
- Beard improved to 12-0 in season openers as a Division I head coach, including 4-0 at Ole Miss.
- It was the second most points scored by a Beard coached team in a regular season opener. (Texas Tech, 2020)
- It was the most points scored by a Beach coached team in a regular season opener at Ole Miss. The Rebels were four points short of the SJB Pavilion record.
TEAM NOTES
- Ole Miss won its 12th consecutive regular-season opener, dating back to 2015-16.
- The Rebels improved to 7-0 all-time against Alcorn State.
- Ole Miss' five starters have combined active starting streaks of 206 games.
- The Rebels assisted on 25 of their 35 made shots.
- Ole Miss had five players reach double figures, four of them were starters.
- The Rebels outscored Alcorn State 56-10 in the paint.
- OM had three players dish out 5+ assists.
- Ole Miss led for 38:12.
- All available Rebels saw action in tonight's game.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss hosts Central Arkansas inside the SJB Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on SECN+ and the Ole Miss Radio Network. Kudzu Ventures will cover the first $10,000 spent in concessions for students at the student store.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
Alcorn
UM
FG%
.365
.574
3FG%
.400
.333
FT%
.556
.622
RB
31
38
TO
26
11
STL
8
14
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
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