SOUTHAVEN — The Ole Miss Rebels have already become one of the country’s surprise teams this season. On Friday, they showed why.

When they weren’t shooting well and turning the ball over at an alarming rate in the first half, they stepped up the defensive pressure and kept Southern Miss off the scoreboard. When the Rebels needed big shots, they got them. And when it was time to put the Golden Eagles away, they did that, too.

Chris Warren scored 17 points, Eniel Polynice was one assist short of a triple-double, and Ole Miss closed out the game with a 19-4 run over the last eight minutes to beat Southern Miss 78-58.

Polynice finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Dwayne Curtis added 15 points and nine rebounds, and four Ole Miss players scored in double figures.

Freshman R.L. Horton led Southern Miss with 23 points and Jeremy Wise scored 17, but no other Eagle scored more than five. That lack of depth was the biggest factor in the outcome, USM coach Larry Eustachy said.

“We had guys out there too long and it caught up to us. We got fatigued at the end and gave up too many layups, which is uncharacteristic of us,” Eustachy said. “I’m not taking anything away from Ole Miss. I just think we got fatigued. The game got too long for us. I thought we belonged with this team for 30 minutes.”

The game at the DeSoto Civic Center wrapped up a memorable month-long road trip for Ole Miss. The No. 22 Rebels improved to 12-0 with the win over USM (8-5) to secure the best start in school history and achieved their first Top 25 ranking in six seasons. With a win over Alabama A&M Wednesday, can head into Southeastern Conference play undefeated and set a school record for the longest winning streak overall.

The game against Alabama A&M will be Ole Miss’ first true home game since Dec. 1. Ole Miss finished 2007 with three games at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, a road game at Central Florida, and two neutral-court games in Mississippi.

“The best start in the history of our program. I don’t take that lightly and I don’t think the kids take that lightly,” Kennedy said. “All the people in our office are going to give the kids words of wisdom. We told them we’ll put those in a book and give it to them at the end of the season. It’s the nature of the game. You don’t get to enjoy it.”

The Rebels’ fans got to enjoy this one. A large crowd of 7,200, mostly red-and-blue clad supporters, watched their team fall behind early, hang on through the middle of the game, then finish it off in decisive fashion.

Ole Miss committed seven turnovers in the first seven minutes, helping Southern Miss take a 24-16 lead with 8:47 left in the first half. Then Warren hit two 3-pointers in a span of 30 seconds to spark a 17-3 run that gave the Rebels the lead for good. Warren’s third 3-pointer of the first half

“Chris’ three was great. It put us up by six at the half. Gave us momentum,” Polynice said.

Southern Miss kept the game close early in the second half, getting within three points twice and two with 8:32 to play. Then the Rebels’ depth took over and sent the Golden Eagles back to Hattiesburg disappointed.

After USM’s Craig Craft hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 56-54, senior Ole Miss guard Brian Smith answered with a trey of his own on the other end to push the lead back to five and the Rebels took off from there. The Rebels finished the game with a 22-4 run and held the Golden Eagles scoreless for the last 6:25.Ole Miss hit nine 3-pointers in the game, but none after Smith’s trey that started the decisive run. It put the nail in USM’s coffin with great play in the paint from Polynice and Curtis, who combined for 15 of the 22 points.

USM also had a 6 1/2-minute drought without a field goal in the first half. Like Eustachy, Kennedy said the Rebels’ depth was the difference.

“One of the strengths of our team is we have quality depth. We both sustained heavy fouls and depth helped sustain us when we got in foul trouble,” Kennedy said. “The second half we started putting our bodies on their bodies and scoring in the paint. That’s where games are won.”