ChompTalk.com

The Gators fell 94-69 Thursday night in Oxford due to the suffocating defense of the Rebels. Ole Miss freshman Sira Thienou put on a dominant first-half performance that kept Florida behind all night, giving the Rebels their seventh straight win over the Gators. 

Ra Shaya Kyle scored the first bucket of the game with an and-1 down low. Paint presence would be crucial for Florida in the first half, as the Gators tried to use its size as an advantage.

Ole Miss wasted no time before enforcing an aggressive full-court defense, leading to back-to-back threes, giving the Rebels a 12-6 lead halfway through the first. 

Florida quickly matched the energy of Ole Miss, resulting in transition opportunities. However, halfway through the second quarter, the Rebels went on an 8-0 run, capitalizing off of the Gator’s turnovers. 

Ole Miss ranks third in the nation and first in the SEC for scoring defense, allowing only 51.3 points per game. Tonight was no different, as the Rebels forced 14 turnovers in the first half, scoring 18 points off of the mistakes. 

Florida didn’t have an answer for Thienou, who had a career-high 29 points, with 22 coming through the first two quarters.

The Gators made a 7-0 run as the half came to close, keeping the Rebels lead at ten, 42-32.

Turnovers continued to plague Florida in the second half, as Ole Miss ran away with the game on a 14-1 run in the third.

The Gators gave away the ball 15 times, leading to 24 Rebel points in the final 20 minutes.

Jeriah Warren caught fire from beyond the arc late in the game with 13 second-half points, shooting 3-for-3 from deep in the fourth.

The effort wasn’t enough to propel the Gators back into the contest, as Florida is now 0-6 in matchups this season when trailing at the half.

The Gators are back in action on Sunday against No.6 LSU (19-0, 4-0) in Gainesville. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and can be viewed on SECN.