Ole Miss Advances to Second Round in Men’s NIT with High-Scoring Win

WEST LONG BEACH, N.J. (WCBI/Ole Miss Athletics) – Senior Sebastian Saiz posted a double double with 23 points and 11 rebounds and junior Deandre Burnett added 17 points, including 15 in the second half, to lift the Rebels over Monmouth 91-83 and advance to the NIT second round Tuesday.

The Rebels trailed by as many as seven in the game after a dunk by Monmouth senior guard Collin Stewart with 5:51 left in the first half. Ole Miss cut the lead to three right before the half with a putback from an offenseive rebound by sophomore Terence Davis. Davis finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Ole Miss came out at halftime firing on all cylinders after trailing by three at the half. Burnett knocked down 4 of 7 3-point shots in the first seven minutes of the second half to lead the Rebels to a 52 point second-half performance.

Saiz went a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe to pick up his 30th career double double and 21st of the season to set the Ole Miss single-season double-double record. Junior Cullen Neal and New Jersey native Breein Tyree had 11 points each.

Ole Miss outplayed the Hawks on the glass 46-31 and shot 51.6 percent from the field, including 45.0 percent from beyond the arch. The Rebels await the winner of No. 1 seed Syracuse and No. 8 UNC Greensboro, whose game was postponed until tomorrow due to weather.