by Jake Adams
It wasn't a dream.
Ole Miss really did come back from an 11-point deficit to the Vanderbilt Commodores with just 7:47 to play in the game.
Vanderbilt really did make a Memorial Gym record 17 3-pointers, and lost, even though seemingly everything the Commodores threw up in the air re-entered earth's atmosphere by swooshing through the basket. And just when it seemed that Vandy's shady agreement with the basketball Gods had come to an end Kevin Bright did sink what looked like the final nail in the Ole Miss coffin from the corner to give Vanderbilt a 78-75 lead with three seconds on the clock.
That's when you figure Andy Kennedy calls the timeout to set up some sort of last-ditch effort, but he didn't.
Instead the Rebels in-bounded the ball and immediately ran the floor. Marshall Henderson was virtually sprinting down the court, relatively open, but only because he was at mid-court and so far away from being able to score, or so they thought. Jarvis Summers tossed him the ball, Henderson jacked it up from somewhere in between mid-court and the 3-point line and..... Here, see it for yourself.
GOOOOOAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
It all really happened, and if you didn't set some sort of personal consecutive high-five record with the friend or family member sitting next to you in that moment then you have no soul.
And of course after the triumphant comeback, the Rebels ran away with it in overtime, going on to win 89-79.
It was an amazing victory. Marshall Henderson, who finished with 26 points solidified his place in Ole Miss lore for the remainder of this blogger's life. There are very few moments like that in Ole Miss sports where the Rebels are the ones on the celebration end. That game was one of them. It was special. Henderson is special. This Ole Miss basketball team is special.
Championship teams in any sport usually have that game they shouldn't have won, where everything was going their opponent's way, but yet still somehow find a way to overcome incredible adversity and get the win. That's what happened for Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, a place the Rebels haven't won in the six previous years under Kennedy. Ole Miss found a way to win, even against a Vanderbilt team setting a 3-pointer record in its own gym.
The Rebels are 14-2, 3-0 in the SEC and a secret no longer.
OLE MISS HEADLINES:
1. Rebels Down Dores in Overtime.
2. Dores Knocked Down.
3. Best finish in college basketball this season.
4. Season saver.
5. Henderson: "I knew I was going to do it..."
6. Stallings: "We should have won..."
