Ole Miss held on to beat No. 7-seeded Georgia 76-72 on Thursday in the SEC Tournament, the Southeastern Conference said. The No. 15 Rebels extended their unexpected run under coach Chris Beard, surviving a late Georgia comeback.
AJ Storr led Ole Miss with 19 points, Malik Dia scored 17 and Travis Perry added 16, the box score showed. James Scott had 13 rebounds. Kanon Catchings paced Georgia with 19 points, according to the official statistics.
Ole Miss built a 23-point lead and led 34-20 at halftime, its largest halftime advantage against a conference opponent this season, the box score showed. Georgia trailed after shooting 27 percent in the first half. The Rebels also got a boost when game officials ejected Georgia center Somto Cybil for elbowing Perry, officials said.
Georgia rallied with a 20-2 run to cut the deficit to 57-52 and briefly made it a one-possession game in the final minutes. Perry hit a 3-pointer to halt the surge, and Ole Miss survived frantic moments in the closing seconds when Kezza Giffa hit a late free throw and Travis Perry grabbed the final rebound, the play-by-play and box score show. After the game, Perry told the SEC Network the team had worked to execute the game plan and wanted to play hard for one another, especially the seniors.
Ole Miss shot 45 percent overall and was 9 of 20 from 3-point range, compared with Georgia’s 36 percent and 9 of 38 from long range, the box score showed. Ole Miss will face No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, the SEC schedule listed, with the game airing on the SEC Network and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
