Murrell's 2nd half lifts Ole Miss past Chattanooga, 70-58

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Matthew Murrell put up 25 points, knocking down 6 of 10 shots from behind the arc and sparking a 13-3 run midway through the second half to earn Mississippi a 70-58 win over Chattanooga on Tuesday night.

Murrell scored just eight points in the first half and scored 14 of his 25 points in a five-minute stretch of the second half.

Amaree Abram's jumper with just under three minutes left in the first half tied the game at 33-33 and neither team scored again before intermission. Chattanooga got within a point, 42-41 with more than 12 minutes left on Randy Brady's layup, but Murrell bookended a 10-0 run with 3-pointers, and after A.J. Caldwell hit a 3 for the Mocs, Murrell answered with his third 3 in a three-minute span to make it 55-44 with under 10 minutes to play.

Murrell finished 9 of 14 from the field with five rebounds and a pair of steals. TJ Caldwell added 10 points and Ole Miss (3-0) dished a season-high 17 assists.

Jake Stephens had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead Chattanooga (1-2). Jamal Johnson added 15 points and Demetrius Davis contributed another 11.

Ole Miss plays host to UT Martin Friday.

Chattanooga returns home to play host to Covenant College Saturday.

__

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25