Warren Paces Ole Miss Over Vandy
POSTED: 10:22 pm CST January 30,
2008
Oxford, MS -- (Sports Network) - Chris Warren poured in 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists to lead No. 24 Ole Miss past 19th-ranked Vanderbilt, 74-58, at Smith Coliseum.Eniel Polynice chipped in 18 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Rebels (16-3, 3-3 SEC), who got back on track after dropping two consecutive road games at Auburn and Mississippi State. Kenny Williams had 10 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory. "I thought our intensity was where it needed to be," said Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy. "Defensively we were really locked in. (Vanderbilt) is a team that averages 85 points a game and we held them to 58. It was a team effort inside and out. It was a quality win and we got some quality contributions from a variety of players." Shan Foster scored 14 points to lead the Commodores (17-4, 2-4 SEC), who were coming off an 86-64 loss to Florida on Sunday, the largest margin of defeat this season. A.J. Ogilvy also donated 10 points as Vanderbilt dropped to 0-4 in conference road games. "We missed a lot of open shots in the first half," said Vandy head coach Kevin Stallings. "We had an opportunity to be up big at the half, but we didn't make our shots. We've got a lot of work to do. We need to get better. We played harder tonight and were able to battle Ole Miss on the boards in the first half. This is not fun right now." Up by three at the break, Ole Miss completely dominated the second half en route to the victory. The Rebels started on a 15-5 run and never looked back, ignited by a Zach Graham three-ball and capped by a Trevor Gaskins trey that made it 44-31. Vanderbilt closed the gap with an 8-0 run, but couldn't get much closer down the stretch. The Commodores pulled within four, 46-42, on a Foster three at 11:27, but Ole Miss didn't need long to re-open a double-digit lead. It was 60-49 on a Williams dunk at 5:55 and the Rebels shut the door from there. The game was tightly played in the first half, with Ole Miss leading at the start, and later opening its largest margin of the stanza, 19-14, on a Gaskins trey at 7:41. The Commodores battled back with a 7-0 run, started on Ogilvy's layup and capped by a pair of Ross Neltner free throws that put Vanderbilt on top, 21-19, with 5:42 left. The Rebels outscored the Commodores 10-5 the rest of the way, however, and led 29-26 at intermission. Game Notes Ole Miss shot 46 percent, compared to the Commodores' 35 percent effort...Vanderbilt was just 10-of-30 from beyond the arc...Vanderbilt and Ole Miss met for the 108th time, with the Commodores still holding a 69-39 series lead against the Rebels. This was the 48th career meeting in Oxford, with the Rebels holding a 29-19 advantage...The Rebels are 10-0 this year at home and 26-1 in Oxford since Kennedy took the helm last season.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.






