Ole Miss withstood Mississippi State's very best shot....and won.
The Rebels were out-rebounded and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 3-point range for most of the game.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs were shooting better than 60 percent and led by 13 in the 2nd half. But just when it looked like Rick Ray was going to be dancing another jig Jarvis Summers and the Rebels came thundering back. Summers, held scoreless in the 1st half, carried the Rebels to victory with 22 second half points, including a 4-point play that would put Ole Miss on top 71-65 that caused a delighted roar inside the Tad Pad and proved to be the dagger in the Bulldogs, who considered beating the Rebels a "life or death" proposition.
While beating Mississippi State (9-11, 2-5 SEC) at Tad Smith Coliseum won't do much to bolster the Rebels' NCAA Tournament chances, losing would have been devastating. But don't let State's record fool you as to how impressive this win was for the Rebels. It really was Mississippi State's Super Bowl, and it played that way. Craig Sword (27 pts) played out of his mind. Meanwhile the Rebels started 0-for-7 from the field and struggled most of the night shooting. For Ole Miss to struggle like that while facing Mississippi State's very best shot and still come away with the victory is a good sign for this basketball team.
Ole Miss (13-7, 4-3) has consecutive conference wins with a good chance to string together a third when it travels to downtrodden Missouri (7-12, 1-5) Saturday (3 p.m., Fox Sports Net).
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