Malik Dia scored 20 points and eclipsed 1,000 for his career as Ole Miss throttled Southeastern Louisiana 88-58 in both teams’ season opener on Monday in Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels trailed for most of the first half, but they turned a three-point deficit into a 16-point lead in the final 7:19 before the break to take command.
Dia canned 7 of 13 field-goal attempts on the night and sank all but one of his seven free throws. Teammate AJ Storr had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Ilias Kamardine and Kezza Giffa had 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Rebels, who shot 51.9% from the floor.
Jaiden Lawrence scored 15 points and Makhi Myles had 10 for Southeastern Louisiana, which made 34% of its field-goal attempts.
Following a historic campaign last season that ended with a Sweet 16 berth for just the second time ever, Ole Miss returned just one of its five starters — 6-foot-9 senior Dia.
The Lions’ Peter Hemschemeier and Lawrence each connected from deep for a 10-5 lead, but the Rebels got it to 12-11 when Dia produced a three-point play to reach 1,000 career points with 13:09 left in the half.
The home side finally led with 8:27 to go in the opening period on Dia’s forced turnover at midcourt and spinning layup for a 20-19 edge.
James Scott’s dunk and Kamardine’s deep ball extended a Rebels run and Ole Miss led 33-24 with just under four minutes to go until the break.
The surge moved to 17-0, capped by a Storr layup and 3-pointer for a 38-24 advantage. Giffa’s jumper in the final seconds of the half made it 45-29 Ole Miss.
The Lionsran into foul trouble very early in the second half as Isaiah Gaines and Jeremy Elyzee each were saddled with four fouls, while Lawrence had three — thwarting any chance the visitors had of rallying.
Ole Miss outscored the Lions 43-29 after halftime to ice the big win.
