Sean Pedulla scored a game-high 19 points and Davon Barnes had a crucial rebound before making a pair of late free throws as No. 23 Ole Miss outlasted Texas 72-69 on Wednesday in a key Southeastern Conference clash in Oxford, Miss.
The Longhorns led by four points at the half before Ole Miss leapfrogged to a three-point advantage on a three-point play by Jaemyn Brakefield with 5:23 to play. The Rebels pushed the margin to 63-58 on a fast-break dunk by Dre Davis 21 seconds later but Texas’ Tre Johnson canned a 3-pointer with 2:21 left to produce the game’s 10th tie at 66-66.
Brakefield laid in his own missed shot on Ole Miss’s ensuing possession to put the Rebels back in front. The Longhorns’ Kadin Shedrick followed suit with his dunk off a miss but Pedulla responded with a jumper for the lead with 1:02 to play.
Arthur Kaluma made a free throw to bring Texas to within a point with 49 seconds to play, but missed the second. After a miss by Pedulla with 35 seconds left, the Longhorns called a time out to set the table for a final shot. Johnson then missed a jumper and Barnes grabbed the rebound, was fouled with 8.9 seconds remaining and made both free throws.
Johnson ran the floor and missed a corner 3-pointer with 2 seconds left, allowing Ole Miss (16-5, 5-3 SEC) to escape with the victory and snap a three-game losing streak.
Brakeman scored 18 and Davis 17 for the Rebels, who had just four turnovers in the win. Johnson led the Longhorns (14-7, 3-5) with 22 points and Kaluma hit for 12.
The Longhorns roared out of the gate, scoring 11 of the game’s first 13 points after a layup by Ze’rik Onyema at the 15:18 mark of the first half. Ole Miss swung back, tying the contest at 12-12 when Brakefield hit a jumper with 12:54 remaining in the half and then taking a 17-16 lead on another shot in the lane by Brakefield with 10:15 left.
Texas then reeled off a 9-0 surge that was capped by a jumper by Johnson with 8:04 to play before the break. The Longhorns eventually stretched the margin to a13 points before Ole Miss answered, closing to within two points before going to halftime down 38-34.
Johnson and Pedulla led their respective teams with 11 points apiece before halftime.
