OXFORD, Miss. -- Dominik Olejniczak, Ole Miss' 7-foot junior from Poland, outscored Daniel Gafford to help the Rebels beat the University of Arkansas 84-67 on Saturday at The Pavilion.
Olejniczak, who came into the game averaging 6.4 points, doubled that for a season-high 13 points. He hit 5 of 7 shots and 3 of 3 free throws.
Gafford, the Razorbacks' 6-11 sophomore from El Dorado who is a projected first-round NBA Draft pick, matched his season-low with nine points. He hit 2 of 6 shots and 5 of 6 free throws.
"We definitely have to do a better job of getting [Gafford] touches where he needs to get the ball," Arkansas freshman guard Isaiah Joe said. "Right now, he's not getting enough touches."
Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson credited Ole Miss with doing a good job of defending Gafford -- who came into the game averaging 17.0 points -- but added that Gafford needs to do a better job of putting himself in position to get the ball where he can shoot it. He also said the other players need to get him the ball more.
"I think it was a combination," Anderson said. "But Dan's got to play better than that."
Gafford had 10 rebounds, but also five turnovers. It was his highest turnover total since he had six in each of the first two games against Texas and California-Davis.
Ole Miss junior guard Breein Tyree credited Rebels Coach Kermit Davis for coming up with a defensive game plan to frustrate Gafford.
"Coach is a great scouter," Tyree said. "Before a game, he'll watch hours upon hours of film. He told us that [Gafford] is a scoring big, so he doesn't like to pass out of the post.
"That's why we were trapping him in the post. He didn't want to pass the ball out, and that'll give you five turnovers."
Bench shines
One bright spot for the Razorbacks on Saturday was that they outscored Ole Miss 35-21 in bench points, including 29 combined points from Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and sophomore forward Gabe Osabuohien.
Embery-Simpson, a freshman guard, scored a career-high 16 points. His previous high was 14 points against Colorado State and Austin Peay.
"Hopefully this is a breakout opportunity for him," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said.
Osabuohien scored a career-high 13 points. His previous high was six points in six games, most recently against Texas A&M in the SEC opener.
"I thought Gabs brought good energy," Anderson said. "He fixes things on defense, he takes charges, touches balls, rebounds."
Osabuohien hit 5 of 9 shots, 3 of 4 free throws and had 3 rebounds.
Been a while
Saturday marked the fourth time Ole Miss Coach Kermit Davis faced Arkansas as a head coach, but the first time in 28 seasons.
The three previous games in which Davis was a head coach against the Razorbacks came during the 1990-91 season when he was at Texas A&M.
Arkansas, which went 34-4 that season, hit triple digits on Davis and Texas A&M in all three games and outscored the Aggies 332-221 for an average winning margin of 37.0 points.
Arkansas never has played Middle Tennessee State, where Davis was a head coach for the previous 16 seasons, or Idaho, where he was the head coach for three seasons over two stints.
Off the glass
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford came into the game averaging an SEC-best 3.0 offensive rebounds, but he didn't have any against Ole Miss. All of Gafford's 10 rebounds came on the defensive end.
"That's hard to do," Rebels Coach Kermit Davis said of keeping Gafford off the offensive boards. "Because he is a live body around the rim."
Charging up
Arkansas freshman guard Isaiah Joe took his team-leading 13th charge with 49.4 seconds left in the first half when he held his ground in the lane and KJ Buffen slammed into him.
Gabe Osabuohien took his 11th charge for the Razorbacks with 14:22 left in the game when Terence Davis ran him over.
Chaney starts
Arkansas freshman forward Reggie Chaney made his second start Saturday in place of junior Adrio Bailey.
His only previous start was in the Razorbacks' 73-70 victory over Texas State on Dec. 22.
Chaney had 4 points and 1 rebound in 12 minutes Saturday.
Sophomores Daniel Gafford, Mason Jones, Jalen Harris, and freshman Isaiah Joe have started all 17 games this season for the Razorbacks.
Hog killer
Ole Miss senior guard Terence Davis is averaging 20.2 points in his past five games against Arkansas. His average actually took a dip from 21.5 points the previous four games after he scored 18 on Saturday.
"He's a good player," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "He's an experienced player. I think they do a good job of putting him in a position where he can be successful.
"He not only scores against us. He scores against other people, too."
Davis came into Saturday's game averaging 17.8 points on the season, and 14.7 points in 84 games since he was a sophomore.
3-point streak lives
Arkansas has hit at least one three-point basket in 994 consecutive games.
Sophomore guard Jalen Harris hit a three-pointer with 7:50 left in the first half to extend the Razorbacks' streak.
Arkansas missed its first five three-pointers before Harris' make. The Razorbacks finished the game 6 of 23 from beyond the arc.
The last time Arkansas didn't hit a three-pointer was Jan. 7, 1989, at Texas, but the Razorbacks won 99-92. The Razorbacks attempted two three-pointers, with Lee Mayberry and Cannon Whitby each missing.
Sports on 01/20/2019