Ad Disclosure
Ole Miss rallies to beat Texas for 3-point home win, ending 3-game losing skid
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Ole Miss got back in the win column on Wednesday night, holding off Texas in a back-and-forth battle.
No. 23 Ole Miss entered the Wednesday game having dropped 3 consecutive SEC contests to Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Mizzou. The Longhorns almost made it a 4-game losing skid.
Texas posted its largest lead of the game, 32-19, with 5:43 left in the 1st half. Ole Miss had it down to a 4-point game, 38-34, at the half and worked from there.
Both teams experienced shooting struggles, the Rebels were 10-of-29 in the 1st half and the Longhorns went 11-of-30 in the 2nd half.
The game saw 14 lead changes and 11 ties. Texas led for over 20 minutes of playing time, but the Longhorns’ lead was 55-54 with 6:55 to go in the game.
It was a fight to the finish. Ole Miss’s largest lead of the game was just a 5-point differential. The Rebels were up 66-61 with 3:18 to go, but Texas wasn’t going away and it went down to the wire.
Ole Miss needed 2 defensive stops in the final 10 seconds. A pair of Davon Barnes free throws made it a 72-69 game with 8 seconds to go. Texas’s Tre Johnson got a look for a game-tying 3 before the buzzer, but it did not go in.
Johnon was the game’s high scorer with 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field, with 2 3-pointers, adding 8 free throws. Ole Miss had 3 players in double figures. Sean Pedulla led the way with 19 points, followed by Jae Bakersfield with 18 and Dre Davis’s 17 points.
For Ole Miss coach Chris Beard, it was his first win over his former team.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.