Ole Miss earned a 92-78 win in an exhibition versus a UAB team led by a familiar face — former Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy.
The Rebels shot 55% from the field and 43% from 3 in the matchup. Ole Miss had 6 players with double figures on the scoreboard. Seton Hall transfer Budd Clark led that effort with 18 points and 7 assists. He shot 70% from the floor. Returning guard Patton Pinkins had 15 points. Santiago Trouet led the team in rebounding with 9 boards.
“The 3-point shot showed up for us tonight. I think it will be a weapon for our team … I give UAB a lot of credit. They were aggressive … It was a really good learning experience for us,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said, adding that he was honored to see Kennedy back at a place he spent 12 seasons coaching. “More important than the basketball tonight was bringing back one of the all-time great Rebels … [Andy Kennedy] came in, got a 20-win season right off the bat, won the SEC championship a few years later, and had some really special teams here … I hope tonight was just the start in honoring [him].”
Both teams traded blows in the 1st half. UAB leaned on the 3-point ball, with Justyn Fernandez, Deuce Jones, and Antallah Sandlin-El being the most productive deep shooters. Fernandez hit a pair of triples and a jumper to catalyze an 8-0 run that put the Blazers up 33-28 with 6:29 left until the midway break. Ole Miss bounced back with a 7-0 run, kickstarted by a Roman Siulepa dunk to go up 35-33 with 3:49 on the clock. The two squads continued to spar, and Fernandez hit a layup to send UAB to halftime with a 45-44 advantage.
Ole Miss scored 4 quick points to reclaim the lead after the intermission. The Blazers responded with a trio of triples to go up 54-50 at the 16:36 mark. Sandlin-El was responsible for a pair of them, and Fernandez was credited with the other. The Rebels followed that up with an 15-5 run to take a lead that they would not relinquish. Florida International transfer Corey Stephenson had a fastbreak layup, followed by a fastbreak dunk to cap the run and put his team up 65-59.
SANTIAGO 🆙 https://t.co/9IZ43hoL8k
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) October 28, 2026
A game that was back-and-forth, with neither team delivering the dagger for the first 35 minutes took a turn in the home run stretch. And it was the home Rebels that dominated at the end of the game. Australia native Ben Henshall connected on a 3-pointer that ignited a 16-7 run to close out the contest.
UAB was led in scoring by Fernandez, who had 25 points. The senior guard shot an imptessive 50% from the field and 63% from behind the arc. Jones and Sandlin-El joined their sharp-shooting teammate with double digits on the scoreboard. The two Blazers scored 12 points apiece in the contest.
Before the contest tipped off, a tribute video played in Kennedy’s honor. The veteran coach, and current athletics director at UAB, played a pivotal role in Ole Miss basketball becoming a relevant program. In his time with the Rebels, the team had a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and won the SEC championship in 2013. Kennedy coached Ole Miss greats like Marshall Henderson, Stefan Moody, Murphy Holloway, Breein Tyree, and Sebastian Saiz.
“I really appreciate the effort that Coach Beard, Ole Miss basketball, [Keith Carter], and the athletic department put into try to recognize what was accomplished in my time here. I really do appreciate that,” Kennedy, the winningest coach in Ole Miss basketball, said. “I really do pull for Ole Miss. I know sometimes people think when a coach leaves, just for self-serving reasons, they don’t want the program to do as well. I’ve just never really been that guy.”
Next up
Ole Miss will begin the regular season versus Alcorn State on Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on SEC Network+ and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.