Malik Dia scored 12 consecutive Ole Miss points in the final 6:21, Dre Davis sank a clutch layup in the closing seconds, and the 19th-ranked Rebels fought off pesky South Carolina for a 72-68 win on Wednesday in Columbia, S.C.
Davis canned a layup with 22.4 seconds remaining as the shot clock was about to expire, increasing Ole Miss’ lead to 71-68.
After South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyle missed a layup attempt, Jaemyn Brakefield (14 points) hit 1 of 2 free throws with five seconds left.
The Rebels (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) emerged with their third consecutive win and fourth in five games.
Dia shot 7-for-12 while tallying 18 points, and Davis had 12 points and four rebounds. Ole Miss’ Matthew Murrell scored 10 points.
South Carolina (10-14, 0-11) took its 11th consecutive loss despite getting 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks from Murray-Boyles. Nick Pringle scored 12 points, while Jamarii Thomas had 11 and Zachary Davis produced seven points and 10 boards.
The Gamecocks jumped on top early as Zachary Davis put in a pair of layups, but Ole Miss then went on a 16-4 run behind six points by Dre Davis and 3-pointers from Murrell and Jaylen Murray.
During an 11-for-15 shooting stretch, including 4-for-4 from long range, Ole Miss moved ahead 27-17 after Davon Barnes’ 3-pointer just past the midpoint of the half.
Bolstered by a season-best 65.2 percent shooting for a half, the Rebels carried a 42-32 advantage into the locker room at halftime as Murrell paced the club with eight points.
In the second half, a Murray-Boyles free throw with 12:46 left trimmed the deficit to 50-46 as the Gamecocks came alive and Ole Miss’ shooting cooled off.
With 6:55 to go, Thomas sank a driving bank shot for South Carolina’s first lead since the game’s early minutes, 58-57. However, Dia scored seven of his dozen straight for a 64-all tie with 3:41 left.
Murray-Boyles replied with a layup, but Dia added a layup and then a 3-pointer, putting the Rebels on top 69-66 with 2:04 to go.
–Field Level Media
