Mississippi 69, Nicholls State 43

Dec 15, 2005, 10:16 pm

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Todd Abernethy and Rondrick Nolen each

scored 11 points to lead Mississippi to 69-43 win over Nicholls

State on Thursday.

Dwayne Curtis had 10 points for Ole Miss (6-2). The Rebels hit

45.6 percent from the floor and held Nicholls leading scorer,

Stefan Blaszczynski, to just two points. Blaszczynski scored 26

points in a game against Indiana earlier in the season, and has

averaged 15 points per game.

The Colonels, who are 1-25 against SEC opponents, shot 17-of-52

from the field and hit just 32.7 percent from the floor.

Ole Miss shot 26-of-57 from the field, as Nolen and Abernethy

combined for 9-of-14. Abernethy was 3-of-4 from three-point range

while Nolen added five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Ole Miss led 37-22 at halftime despite hitting only 13-of-31

from the field. Abernethy had eight points for the Rebels, who

raced to a 10-2 lead in the opening two minutes.

The Rebels led by as many as 28 points in the second half, the

final time at 69-41.