Brakefield scores 25, Ole Miss beats NC State 72-52 to stay unbeaten

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Jaemyn Brakefield scored a career-high 25 points and unbeaten Mississippi cruised to a 72-52 victory over NC State in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night.

Brakefield made 8 of 12 shots with two 3-pointers and all nine of his free throws for the Rebels (6-0). Allen Flanigan finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Matthew Murrell and Jaylen Murray both scored 12 with Murray adding four assists.

Brakefield sank two 3-pointers and scored 13 points to lead Mississippi to a 35-27 lead at halftime. Ben Middlebrooks came off the bench to score 10 for the Wolfpack (4-2) before the intermission. Brakefield had a layup to open the second half, Murrell followed with a 3-pointer and the Rebels pushed their lead to double digits and stayed there.

Middlebrooks finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double to lead NC State. Casey Morsell scored 12.

It was the first time the two programs squared off in the regular season. They played each other in 1928 and 1929 in the Southern Conference tournament. Ole Miss won the first matchup, but the Wolfpack beat the Rebels the next season 34-32 and then beat Duke for their first conference championship. NC State beat Ole Miss 77-54 in a 2000 NIT semifinal.

NC State travels to play Boston College on Saturday in an early ACC matchup. The Rebels will host Memphis on Saturday.

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