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Ole Miss hits game-winner in closing seconds to knock off No. 4 Tennessee
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Ole Miss forward Jaemy Brakefield scored a go-ahead bucket with 7 seconds remaining, Tennessee’s Igor Milicic Jr. missed a layup attempt at the buzzer, and the Rebels knocked off the fourth-ranked Volunteers on their home court Wednesday night, 78-76.
The win gave Ole Miss (21-9, 10-7 SEC) its second this season over an AP top 5 opponent. It was a far cry from the 90-64 defeat Ole Miss suffered at the hands of a top-5 Tennessee team last season. And it also snapped a 4-game winning streak for Tennessee (24-6, 11-6 SEC).
Brakefield led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Dre Davis (13 points), Malik Dia (13), and Matthew Murrell (12) each reached double-figures for the Rebels. Davis also added 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
Jordan Gainey led the Vols with 17 points off the bench. Chaz Lanier added 15 and Felix Okpara scored 13. Though Zakai Zeigler struggled with his shot (8 points, 2-9 FG), he tied a career-high with 15 assists.
A pair of free throws and a triple from Gainey put Tennessee on top by 3 with 5:35 to play in the game. Over the next 3 minutes, Ole Miss outscored Tennessee 11-4 to flip the scoreboard and go up 4. Brakefield converted an and-one to get the run going. Davis scored 6 of his 13 during the spurt to propel the Rebels out in front.
Brakefield then played the role of the closer, getting a bucket with 53 seconds to play to put Ole Miss up 4, then getting the game-winning layup with 7 seconds left. All 19 of Brakefield’s points came in the final 11 minutes of the game. He scored 19 of the Rebel’s final 29 points.
“Everybody on the team made some winning plays for us tonight, and that’s what it takes against a 1-seed-type team like Tennessee,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said after the game. “There’s no other way to be in these games unless everybody plays well. That’s what we got tonight on a special night in Oxford.”
Tennessee shot the lights out in the first half, but Ole Miss was right there, still in the game, after 20 minutes. The Vols got 13 points from Lanier, as well as 7 apiece from Gainey, Jahmai Mashack, and Darlinstone Dubar. The Vols cashed in on 8 of their 17 triples in the first half and went to the break shooting 48% from the field.
The Vols controlled the boards 20-13, managed their turnovers (4), and got big production from the bench, But Ole Miss trailed by just 5.
Even though Ole Miss didn’t hit a single 3-pointer in the second half (0-for-8), Tennessee’s shooting cooled from the outside and the Rebels swallowed the boards. Tennessee made only 4 of its final 14 triples and Ole Miss won the rebounding battle 24-13 over the final 20 minutes. That included 11 offensive rebounds, one of which directly led to the game-winner.
“Give Coach Beard and his staff credit,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “I thought he had his guys much more ready to play than I did. Some of the plays we gave up, forget the last 2 minutes, it’s the things we did throughout the game, not sticking to our scouting report, transition defense, going at it half-speed, offensive rebounding on their half.
“I told our team I thought [Ole Miss] wanted the game more, which is always disappointing. … We came out and they took a shot, missed it, had a chance to get the defensive rebound and go down and maybe win the game. We didn’t. Executed what we wanted to do there at the end, just didn’t come up with a shot at the end.”
Tennessee remains a win away from securing a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. The loss does potentially hurt UT’s chances of securing a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols are still among the favorites to make the national semifinals, though, per the latest Final Four odds.
Ole Miss will have one more shot at a top-5 win on Saturday when it travels to Gainesville to face off against Florida. Tennessee closes the regular season at home against South Carolina.
RELATED: Vols fans, with March Madness quickly approaching, check out our guide on the top Tennessee betting apps to get in on the action before the season ends.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
