Nov. 20, 2012

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Ole Miss' trio of seniors - Reginald Buckner, Murphy Holloway and Nick Williams - all scored in double-figures, as the Rebels' cruised to a 76-50 victory over McNeese State on Tuesday night.

Holloway scored a game-high 15 and pulled down nine boards, while Buckner added 11 points and seven boards and Williams chipped in 10 points for the Rebels (4-0)

Holloway missed most of the first half after picking up two early fouls, and the Rebels looked sluggish on their way to a 39-30 halftime lead. But the senior returned in the second half to score 12 of his 15 points.

"Murphy (Holloway) is our energy, and when he sat out all of except of six minutes of first half, I thought we were really lethargic," said Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy. "We didn't play well. I thought it was the worst game of the year for 40 minutes. We guarded in the second half. We stopped giving up so many second chance opportunities. Murphy's energy really propelled us."

Holloway's energy and production helped the Rebels push their halftime lead to 54-35 with 13:20 remaining. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound junior was providing his usual muscle in the paint, but was also effective in the open floor, hitting Buckner for a pair of alley-oop dunks as the Rebels put the game out of reach.

Buckner was 6-of-6 from the floor and added seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

Ole Miss outscored the Cowboys 37-20 in the second half and limited McNeese State to just 23.7-percent shooting from the field. The Rebels also dominated the boards with a 47-30 advantage and forced the Cowboys into 20 turnovers. McNeese State (1-3) was led by Desharick Guidry's 14 points.