UNIVERSITY RELEASE — Originally published by Ole Miss Athletics, Oct. 15, 2026.
Ole Miss trailed Alabama by 18 points in the second half of Thursday night’s Ballin’ in Boutwell exhibition in Birmingham, cut the deficit to three with 2:46 to play, and lost 92-84 when the Crimson Tide made their free throws down the stretch.
The Score
Alabama 92, Ole Miss 84 — halftime: Alabama 42, Ole Miss 39. Exhibition.
A First Half That Stayed Close
Budd Clark opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper and Roman Siulepa threw down a two-handed dunk inside the first two minutes, and Ole Miss led 7-4 at the opening media timeout. The Rebels went back in front 15-14, and Santiago Trouet’s layup made it 18-17 with under 10 minutes left in the half.
Alabama answered with the half’s biggest push, building a nine-point lead before Ole Miss clawed back. The Rebels got it to 35-29 inside the final five minutes, and Ilias Kamardine’s putback pulled them within one at 40-39. Alabama took a 42-39 lead to the break.
The pressure was doing the work: Ole Miss forced 12 first-half turnovers and turned them into 15 points, with Clark’s steals leading directly to baskets.
The Comeback, and Where It Stopped
Kamardine opened the second half with a second-chance midrange jumper, but Alabama pulled away from there and stretched the margin to 18 — the largest deficit of the night.
Corey Stephenson was the engine of the response. He hit two consecutive threes to cut the lead to seven with seven minutes left, and Clark’s layup trimmed it to five. Zach Day connected from beyond the arc and Stefan Cicic made a pair at the line.
Alabama kept answering. Ole Miss trailed 81-75 with just over four minutes to go before Patton Pinkins went to work — an old-fashioned three-point play, a transition basket fed by Clark, and two free throws after an Alabama technical foul to pull the Rebels within four. Stephenson’s two free throws at the 2:46 mark made it a three-point game, the closest Ole Miss came after the deficit peaked. Alabama made its free throws from there to close it out.
Up Next
Ole Miss returns home to face UAB in an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. CT.
📄 Read the full university release: Men’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Alabama in Exhibition → (OleMissSports.com)