California Golden Bears vs Mississippi Rebels Box Score on Dec 16, 2023

Hot-shooting Jaemyn Brakefield notched a career-high 27 points, and the Ole Miss Rebels remained perfect Saturday night in an 88-78 win over the California Golden Bears in the Hall of Fame Series in San Antonio, Texas.

One of four unbeaten squads and the only one not ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, Ole Miss (10-0) was blistering from the field -- 31-for-59, including 12-for-21 on 3-pointers -- to set a season points high.

Brakefield missed just three of 11 shots and nailed 5 of 7 from deep. Matthew Murrell added 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting and had four treys.

Jaylen Murray had 14 points, while Allen Flanigan managed 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists. TJ Caldwell scored 11.

Shot-blocking 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp sent back four Cal shots.

The Rebels are only two victories away from matching last season's total of 12 in their final one under former coach Kermit Davis.

For Cal (3-7), Jaylon Tyson scored 22 points and Grant Newell had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Fardaws Aimaq (12 rebounds), Jalen Cone and Keonte Kennedy had 11 points apiece as the Golden Bears lost for the sixth time in the past seven games.

Brakefield helped the Rebels start fast, scoring seven points, including a steal and breakaway dunk, as first-year coach Chris Beard's team led 20-8 at 12:55.

Included in a 6-for-7 stretch of treys was the first Ole Miss points by Brandon Murray, a two-time transfer guard who was granted a waiver by the NCAA after missing the season's first nine games.

Nine early points from Aimaq helped the Pac-12 club get back into the game, and a trey by Tyson capped an 8-0 run that cut it to 28-22 at 7:56.

The Rebels held a 46-35 lead at the break, primarily on the heels of their early shooting proficiency.

The SEC school was 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) from the floor and missed just four of its 12 long balls (66.7 percent) to create separation from Cal, which went 16-for-37 (43.2 percent).

After falling behind by 24 in the second half, Cal trimmed it to 10 on a 7-0 run with 1:25 left, but Brakefield sank four free throws for the win.

--Field Level Media