Ole Miss players react during the final seconds of Friday’s game against Georgia during the SEC tournament in Atlanta. Georgia won 75-73 to eliminate Ole Miss. Photo: Ignacio Murillo, The Daily Mississippian.
Ole Miss went to Atlanta needing to repeat as Southeastern Conference Tournament Champions in order to return to the NCAA tournament.
In their first game, the Rebels got a third matchup with Mississippi State this season. The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt on Wednesday to advance to play Ole Miss.
Mississippi State jumped all over Ole Miss, as the Bulldogs took a 10-0 lead to start the game. Mississippi State shot 58 percent from the field and led by nine at halftime. Ole Miss took its first lead at the 8:11 mark of the second half.
“They were in control for 30 of the 40 minutes,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Tale of two halves. Thank goodness the game is still 40 minutes.”
Ole Miss outscored Mississippi State 30-12 over the last 13 minutes, and the Rebels eliminated the Bulldogs with a 78-66 win.
Senior guard Marshall Henderson set an SEC record by shooting 19 3-pointers. He shot 37 percent from behind the arc, a better percentage than his season average of 35 percent, as he made seven of the attempts. Henderson scored 21 points.
Fred Thomas covered Henderson all game, but in the second half Henderson began to get more open looks. He credited these opportunities to possible fatigue from Thomas.
“One thing, I got on them, and I just never stop running,” Henderson said.
“Or shooting,” Kennedy added.
Junior guard Jarvis Summers also scored 21 points. He was 7-of-17 from the field and added six assists.
Ole Miss’ defense helped turn the game, as the Rebels played more 1-3-1 and 2-2-1 pressure defense in the second half. The result created 17 Bulldog turnovers and a win in the SEC tournament.
Ole Miss played three-seed Georgia on Friday night, but the officials stole the show.
There were 51 total fouls called, more than one per minute. There were more fouls than combined made field goals, 45. And there were nearly two free throws per minute, as Georgia and Ole Miss combined to shoot 73 free throws.
“It’s just so hard to call the game now with the new rules,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said. “The officials have an impossible job. It’s just the new rules are so hard to interpret. So I don’t think they lost control. It’s a tougher game to call right now with the way the new rules are worded.”
The new rules to which Fox referred have officials focus on hand-checking and post defense. Essentially, defenders can’t place their hands on an opponent.
“Some people think it’s good for the game,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “I don’t really understand it.”
Regardless of the fouls, Ole Miss had the opportunity to win the game in the closing seconds. Summers hit a mid-range jumper to give Ole Miss a 1-point lead with 48 seconds remaining. But on the following possession, Georgia got two offensive rebounds, and Charles Mann drove to the goal and retook the lead for Georgia with a layup.
“We couldn’t secure a rebound,” Kennedy said. “They got three opportunities. Their point guard chased down the ball and put them in the lead.”
But Ole Miss got two chances to win the game after that Mann layup. Henderson had an open look from five feet beyond the 3-point line, but he missed. Then Summers released a shot as the clock expired that also missed, and Ole Miss fell 75-73.
“For those of you who followed us all year, we have been real close a number of times, and ultimately it comes down to a play here and a play there,” Kennedy said. “Georgia made it tonight.”
Henderson struggled shooting, as he was 5-of-21 from the field and 2-of-16 from three; he finished with 19 points. Summers was 10-of-16 from the field, as he thrived with his mid-range jumper. He had 26 points, but he was 0-of-4 on 3s.
The fouls haunted both teams, as freshman center Dwight Coleby and freshman forward Sebastian Saiz fouled out for Ole Miss. Summers, junior forward Aaron Jones and sophomore forward Anthony Perez finished with four fouls.
Four of Georgia’s starters picked up two fouls in the first half, so Fox had to use his bench for the majority of the first half. No Bulldogs fouled out, but three finished with four fouls. Fox picked up a technical foul for complaining about a foul call.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
