SAN DIEGO, Calif. – BYU suffered its first loss of the season on Thanksgiving afternoon, falling in overtime to No. 23 Ole Miss 96-85 in the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena in San Diego, Calif.

Richie Saunders and Kanon Catchings combined for 25 points in the first half, but it wasn’t enough as Ole Miss outscored the Cougars 57-43 after halftime. The Cougars hit 12 3-pointers, marking the sixth straight game in which BYU hit 10 or more threes.

Five Cougars scored in double figures, including a team-high from Catchings, who led the team in scoring for the first time in his career as the freshman scored a career-high 17 points, 12 of them in the first half. He was 6 of 14 from the field, including five 3-pointers, tied for the eighth-most points by a freshman in program history.

Fousseyni Traore scored in double figures for the third straight game, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block. Saunders and Egor Demin also contributed 16 points each.

First half
After a slow start in which the Cougars missed their first two shots and turned the ball over twice, Catchings got BYU on the board with a 3-pointer from the left corner to make it 4-3 at 17:30. That three-pointer sparked an 8-0 run for the Cougars that included an acrobatic left-handed layup by Saunders and another three-pointer by Catchings.

The Rebels responded with a 5-0 and took a 9-8 lead before Saunders tied it with his first three-pointer of the game. With the game tied 14-14 and just over 14 minutes remaining in the first half, Saunders went on a personal 6-0 run to make it 20-14 before the second media timeout.

Mihailo Boskovic extended the run to 8-0 with two free throws from Ole Miss’ Matthew. Murrello gave the Rebels another 5-0 run and increased the lead to 22:19. Boskovic hit his first three-pointer in three games, followed by another Catchings three on the ensuing possession. The freshman from Brownsburg, Indiana, continued his hot start with his fourth 3-pointer of the first half to make it 31-21 before the media timeout.

Egor Demin scored his first basket of the game with a reverse layup off an assist from Keba Keita to make the score 35-25. Ole Miss scored 12 of the next 14 points to tie the score at 37 with less than two minutes remaining in the first 20 minutes. Boskovic’s second three-pointer was the final basket of the half as BYU took a 42-39 lead into halftime.

Second half
Ole Miss scored the first five points of the second half from the free throw line to take a 43-42 lead, followed by five straight points from Demin, including his first three-pointer of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Rebels had BYU trailing 50-47 at the first media timeout.

Traore slipped on a pick-and-roll to cut the deficit to 50-49 with 15:44 remaining. The Cougars went more than five minutes without a basket while the Rebels extended their lead to a game-high five (55-50).

Fousseyni Traore with the POSTER! 💪 😱 @BYUMBB pic.twitter.com/56i7fgSoj8

– FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 29, 2024

It was 59-54 Ole Miss when a Dallin Hall steal and dunk led a 5-0 run for the Cougars and got the LionTree Arena crowd going again. On the next down, Demin made the extra pass to find Trevin Knell in the corner for his first three-pointer of the night, forcing an Ole Miss timeout.

the theft. the dunk. @DallinHHall

📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/mlRqOgVVxJ

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 29, 2024

The Rebels again extended the lead to five, 66-61, with 5:43 remaining in regulation on a Sean Pedulla layup before Traore scored six straight points to tie the game at 69-1. After the Rebels lost the ball, Knell hit his second three-pointer of the game to give the Cougars the lead for the first time since the start of the half.

Demin pushed the Cougars’ lead to four, 75-71, with the Rebels responding like they had all the might to tie the game two possessions later. Saunders made both free throws to retake the lead, but Ole Miss’ Jaylen Murray drove the lane and tied the game with 26 seconds on the clock. BYU had a chance to win in regulation time, but Traore’s jump shot at midfield bounced off the rim.

Over time
The Cougars were unable to carry the momentum into overtime as they went 2 of 11 from the field while the Rebels were 13 of 13 from the charity stripe, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season.

BYU returns to action tomorrow, November 29, when the Cougars face NC State on day two of the Rady Children’s Invitational at LionTree Arena in San Diego, California.