Forward M.J. Rhett scores in Saturday’s game against Arkansas. PHOTO BY: ARIEL COBBERT
Sophomore guard Manuel Watkins made a layup with 6.4 seconds left, as the Razorbacks (20-5, 9-3 SEC) defeated the Rebels (17-8, 8-4 SEC) by a score of 71-70.
The Rebels had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but senior point guard Jarvis Summers missed a floater that hit off the back rim. The loss ended the six-game winning streak by Ole Miss, and Arkansas has now won seven of their last eight.
Head coach Andy Kennedy said they did a good job of walling up senior guard Rashad Madden on the game-winning shot for the Razorbacks, but he thought someone was caught ball-watching and left Madden open for the last-second floater.
With second place in the SEC on the line and in front of a sold out Tad Smith Coliseum, the high stakes created a great contest but not the right result for the Rebels.
Kennedy described the game as, “two teams fighting for their lives.”
Arkansas and Ole Miss, two of the top scoring teams in the conference, began the game close with one another before Arkansas got out to a 18-11 lead within the first eight minutes.
Ole Miss kept battling back. After struggling to get stops of their own for most of the second half, the Rebels tightened Arkansas’s lead to 34-31 with 3:31 left to play in the first half.
Ole Miss went into halftime trailing by a score of 40-36.
After intermission, the game started out with a bang. Senior forward M.J. Rhett made consecutive baskets, then both teams traded three-pointers in the opening three minutes.
Arkansas led the entire game until Ole Miss made a run to take their first lead of the game at 58-57 with 8:22 left to play.
The Rebels dominated Arkansas the whole game on the boards, winning the edge 45-21 while grabbing 21 offensive rebounds.
With the Rebels dominating the rebounding margin, one would think that would be a win over Arkansas. Ole Miss missed an uncharacteristic seven free-throws for a team that leads the nation in free-throw shooting, and they only shot 38 percent from the field, including five for 20 from three.
Despite shooting poorly, Ole Miss had a chance in the end to win it.
“We stayed in the game with 21 huge offensive rebounds, which is a great effort from us,” Kennedy said. “We put ourselves in a position that, despite those numbers that I just read off to you, had a chance to win if we could of come up with one last stop. Arkansas made the play they needed to make.”
Rhett, junior guard Stefan Moody and junior guard Martavius Newby were big reasons Ole Miss stayed in the game. Rhett had 16 points and nine rebounds. Moody had 16 points and six rebounds, and Newby grabbed 11 rebounds of his own.
“After we set a ball screen and rolled, I was open every time, and I just had to make plays today and was able to make shots today,” Rhett said on his performance.
After going up 58-57, the Rebels kept their lead for the last ten minutes of the second half until the Razorbacks won it in the end.
Four Razorbacks finished the game in double figures.
Summers continued his struggles this season. After going scoreless against Florida, he scored seven points but only on 2-of-7 shooting against Arkansas. He did contribute with six assists.
“He has been hesitant,“ Kennedy said. “We’ve tried to do some things to get him to his strength, and we’ll continue to do that.
Rhett and the Rebels look to start a new winning streak on the road at Mississippi State at 8 p.m. Thursday and are back in action at home Saturday against Tennessee at 6:30 p.m.
