NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Leading early and keeping pace with one of the top teams in the country, the Ole Miss men’s basketball team went on to fall 70-55 to Tennessee on Thursday afternoon in Bridgestone Arena.

“I’m very proud of our team and how hard they fought,” said acting head coach Win Case. “We held Tennessee to 31 points in the second half, but we just couldn’t score, especially in the
second half. I thought that was a big key, as well.”

The Rebels (12-21) took an early lead on a three from Jaemyn Brakefield, as they led 13-11 at the 15:46 mark. Their biggest lead came with 9:37 left in the first half, as a three from Matthew Murrell made it 25-19. However, the Volunteers (23-9) responded, tying the game at 31 before taking a six-point lead into halftime.

Tennessee extended their lead early to begin the second period, before Ole Miss trimmed their deficit to four on a make from beyond the arc by Amaree Abram. The fifth seed in the tournament and No. 17 team nationally pushed back, as they held a double-digit lead for a majority of the remainder of action, before toping the Rebels by 15.

“I want to take this time to just tell my seniors that I’m so proud of them,” said Case. “I absolutely love them because they gave me every single thing that they had every single day in practice, every game. Tonight was no different.”

Ole Miss had three players score in double figures, led by Myles Burns with 14, adding three steals as well. His nine steals in two games tied him for the 10^th-most by any player in an entire SEC Tournament, and are the most for a student-athlete in just two games since Reggie Tinch had 10 for Georgia in 1992.

Brakefield and Murrell each added 12 points for the Rebels.

Josiah-Jordan James paced Tennessee offensively with 20 points, while Santiago Vescovi scored 15.