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MILWAUKEE — Davon Barnes didn't hesitate.
As he unwound at his locker in a gray-toned dressing room after Ole Miss basketball's first NCAA tournament win since 2015, Barnes was asked which teammate was a calming presence down the stretch. Calm, after all, was in short supply for the last 10 minutes on Friday at the Fiserv Forum. The No. 6 seed Rebels beat No. 11 seed North Carolina 71-64 but saw their 22-point lead cut to two with 1:09 left.
Barnes pointed to the teammate two chairs to his right. The player had no reporters around him, and he wasn't even sweaty.
"That little dude right there," Barnes said. "Cam Brent. He's an energy guy for us so he really helps us out when times are going hard."
Brent is a 5-foot-4, 125-pound senior walk-on from Jackson. The Ole Miss media guide lists him as the shortest men's player in the NCAA. He has 11 minutes and two points on his résumé this season, and according to Barnes, a major part in Ole Miss taking down a blue blood in the NCAA tournament.
"Cam, he has a loud voice," Barnes said. "He might be small but he has a very impactful voice. When he talks, we all definitely listen. He keeps us going when the game is going poorly."
The Rebels had taken an 18-point lead into halftime and made it 22 with 17:48 left in the game on a Jaemyn Brakefield jumper. That's when things flipped.
North Carolina chiseled at the gap. Ole Miss' lead was cut to 11 with 10:28 left and then to 63-59 with 5:07 remaining. Coach Chris Beard used all of his timeouts to stunt the Tar Heels' momentum.
What was Brent doing during the timeouts that had Barnes casting praise his way?
"I was just yelling," Brent said. "Everybody stay calm. Stay poised. I can remember telling (Davon Barnes) that it's a game of runs. I was saying eventually it will die down, and eventually it did."
Ole Miss is a veteran team. It starts four seniors and one junior. Beard said that juniors and seniors can get rattled, too, but the composure of this team is a significant advantage.
"I was really impressed with the poise of our guys in the last couple minutes of the game," he said. "As a coach, you never want to be out of timeouts. We had to use some of the timeouts to solve some issues in the second half."
Forward Malik Dia, who had eight points and five rebounds, said it was tough to hear in the huddles at times down the stretch. That's when Brent did his thing.
"(Brent) brings us all together, just saying what he's seeing out there," Dia said. "He's like another coach, really. Big emotional support for us. He always keeps us calm."
More: How Sean Pedulla kept Ole Miss basketball in NCAA tournament, prevented collapse vs UNC
Ole Miss will play No. 3 seed Iowa State on Sunday, If the Rebels win, it would tie the deepest NCAA tournament run in program history. The record is held by the 2001 team that lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16.
"This is my first time being in the NCAA tournament," Brent said. "I'm just trying to, like Coach say, smell the roses. Be there for my teammates. Keep encouraging. We're trying to do something special. Something that's never been done here at Ole Miss."
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball beats UNC in NCAA tournament behind unsung hero
Continue reading...
As he unwound at his locker in a gray-toned dressing room after Ole Miss basketball's first NCAA tournament win since 2015, Barnes was asked which teammate was a calming presence down the stretch. Calm, after all, was in short supply for the last 10 minutes on Friday at the Fiserv Forum. The No. 6 seed Rebels beat No. 11 seed North Carolina 71-64 but saw their 22-point lead cut to two with 1:09 left.
Barnes pointed to the teammate two chairs to his right. The player had no reporters around him, and he wasn't even sweaty.
"That little dude right there," Barnes said. "Cam Brent. He's an energy guy for us so he really helps us out when times are going hard."
Brent is a 5-foot-4, 125-pound senior walk-on from Jackson. The Ole Miss media guide lists him as the shortest men's player in the NCAA. He has 11 minutes and two points on his résumé this season, and according to Barnes, a major part in Ole Miss taking down a blue blood in the NCAA tournament.
"Cam, he has a loud voice," Barnes said. "He might be small but he has a very impactful voice. When he talks, we all definitely listen. He keeps us going when the game is going poorly."
The Rebels had taken an 18-point lead into halftime and made it 22 with 17:48 left in the game on a Jaemyn Brakefield jumper. That's when things flipped.
North Carolina chiseled at the gap. Ole Miss' lead was cut to 11 with 10:28 left and then to 63-59 with 5:07 remaining. Coach Chris Beard used all of his timeouts to stunt the Tar Heels' momentum.
What was Brent doing during the timeouts that had Barnes casting praise his way?
"I was just yelling," Brent said. "Everybody stay calm. Stay poised. I can remember telling (Davon Barnes) that it's a game of runs. I was saying eventually it will die down, and eventually it did."
Ole Miss is a veteran team. It starts four seniors and one junior. Beard said that juniors and seniors can get rattled, too, but the composure of this team is a significant advantage.
"I was really impressed with the poise of our guys in the last couple minutes of the game," he said. "As a coach, you never want to be out of timeouts. We had to use some of the timeouts to solve some issues in the second half."
Forward Malik Dia, who had eight points and five rebounds, said it was tough to hear in the huddles at times down the stretch. That's when Brent did his thing.
"(Brent) brings us all together, just saying what he's seeing out there," Dia said. "He's like another coach, really. Big emotional support for us. He always keeps us calm."
More: How Sean Pedulla kept Ole Miss basketball in NCAA tournament, prevented collapse vs UNC
Ole Miss will play No. 3 seed Iowa State on Sunday, If the Rebels win, it would tie the deepest NCAA tournament run in program history. The record is held by the 2001 team that lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16.
"This is my first time being in the NCAA tournament," Brent said. "I'm just trying to, like Coach say, smell the roses. Be there for my teammates. Keep encouraging. We're trying to do something special. Something that's never been done here at Ole Miss."
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball beats UNC in NCAA tournament behind unsung hero
Continue reading...
