Utah silenced comeback-minded Ole Miss in the final seconds with a 75-74 win to capture third place at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Desert, Calif., on Wednesday night.
The Utes (6-2) squandered a 14-point second-half lead but two free throws by Terrence Brown with 4.4 seconds left saved the game for Utah.
Utah forced Ole Miss (5-2) into a 24-second violation down 74-73 that gave the Utes a chance to win the game with eight seconds left. Brown, who finished with 14 points, sprinted the length of the court and was fouled as he tried to split two defenders.
The Rebels had one last possession to win the game, but AJ Storr failed to get off a shot in time.
Don McHenry, who led all scorers with 27 points, notched a clutch corner 3 to push Utah back up by one with 1:12 left.
Ilias Kamardine responded with a tough floater in the paint to give the Rebels back the lead with 57 seconds left, before they squandered the game.
Malik Dia led the way for Ole Miss with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Kamardine chipped in 15, Patton Pinkins added 14 off the bench and Storr had 10.
The offense started to flow for both teams to open the second half with the Utes making five of their first six shots and the Rebels making six of their first nine.
Utah opened up a 14-point lead 3:47 into the second half thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by McHenry and Brown.
The Rebels started to tighten up and forced the Utes into a dry spell where they missed 9 of 11 from the field. Storr took a rebound coast-to-coast and Dia made a second chance shot to cut the Utes lead to three with 6:19 left.
Kamardine tied the game on a deep 3-pointer to knot the game at 67-all with 4:21 to go.
McHenry had a dominant first half, totaling 19 points while missing just one of his eight shots. He finished the day shooting 10-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
With Utah down by two early, McHenry ushered in a 21-12 run where he accounted for 12 of the points. He capped it with his third 3-pointer of the half to open up a 34-27 lead with 3:11 left
The Utes hit four of their final five field goals in the first half to go into the break with a 42-34 lead.
–Field Level Media
