Jarvis Summers hit a fall away three pointer with .8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 89 and complete a comeback that saw Ole Miss down by six with 39 seconds to play. But it would be all Oregon in overtime as the 13th ranked Ducks grabbed a 115-105 victory.
“Thought we were going to have it. But (we) let it slip,” Marshall Henderson said.
Henderson shot Ole Miss back into the game by draining two threes with under 27 seconds remaining to give Ole Miss a chance to tie the game late.
But Oregon outscored Ole Miss 26-16 in the overtime. The Ducks shot a ridiculous 58.5 percent from the field, 61.1 percent from three and 80 percent from the free throw line.
“Defensively, we never got key stops,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “You can’t let a team come in your building and shoot 59 percent and score 115 and expect to win.”
Point guard Jonathan Loyd led the Duck offense as he scored 23 points – 14 from the line – and dished out 15 assists.
Ole Miss struggled to guard forward Mike Moser on the perimeter, as he went 8 of 13 from the field, 3 of 5 on threes, and scored 23 points. He only had two points at halftime, but Oregon began to exploit Moser’s matchup with the slower Aaron Jones in the second half.
Moser drained two threes off of a pick and pop with Loyd, then had more success by getting isolated with Jones guarding him on the perimeter. Moser added 10 rebounds to pick up a double-double.
Oregon ended up with six players in double figures as their leading scorer, Joseph Young scored 19, 14 of which came after halftime.
For Ole Miss, Henderson had a career night scoring 39 points, the most he’s had at Ole Miss. He drained 10 of 23 three point attempts, both of which are Ole Miss records. Henderson shot seven threes in the final 4:02 of regulation; he made two of them.
“He shoots a lot of balls. The only way to stop him from shooting is to sit him down,” Kennedy said.
LaDarius White finally came alive for Ole Miss as he had a season-high 15 points. But he had eight turnovers as well, including one in overtime that led directly to an Oregon three and a seven point lead for the Ducks.
Jarvis Summers had 12 points, Derrick Millinghaus added 15 and Demarco Cox had 10 to give Ole Miss five players in double figures.
It was an opportunity for Ole Miss to bounce back from their three point loss at Kansas State, defend their home floor and upset a top-15 team, but Oregon was just better. Despite the Rebels furious comeback in regulation, Oregon was too quick, and Moser was too big of mismatch outside.
Kennedy used Anthony Perez to try and guard Moser late in the game. When asked if he is the answer to defending big men that can play on the perimeter, Kennedy simply responded, “No.”
Ole Miss struggled to guard big men outside last season, as Kyle Wiltjer, Erik Murphy and Colin Borchert gave Ole Miss trouble.
Ole Miss won’t return to action until Saturday when they play host to Middle Tennessee State, who has beaten Ole Miss the last two seasons.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
