The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Hoops Downs No. 23 Oklahoma, 75-72
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
December 22, 1998
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Keith Carter scored 20 points and 5-foot-5 freshman Jason Harrison hit five of six free throws down the stretch as Mississippi beat No. 23 Oklahoma 75-72 on Tuesday to gain a spot in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.
Ole Miss (9-2) went ahead for good with 15:59 to play on Michael White's three-point play. His free throw made it 44-41.
Oklahoma (7-2) had a last chance to get even two minutes later when, with the Sooners trailing by six, Eduardo Najera hit a jump shot and was fouled by Rahim Lockhart, who protested and was assessed a technical foul. Najera made the free throw, and Eric Martin made the two technical free throws, completing a five-point trip that cut the Rebels' lead to 47-46.
Oklahoma retained possession because of the technical, but Ryan Humphrey was called for charging and the Sooners never again got as close.
Carter's drive down the baseline and then a steal and dunk pushed the Ole Miss margin back out to 51-46.
With Harrison leading the way, Ole Miss hit 11 of 16 free throws in the last 1:24 to hold the Sooners at bay.
Michael Johnson scored 20 for Oklahoma but he and his runningmate at guard, Tim Heskett, were guilty of 11 turnovers. Heskett was in the lineup a day after a jolting elbow to the head in a game against American-Puerto Rico, a flagrant foul that earned American's Ramon Gomez a one-game suspension and cost his team a 2-0 forfeit loss to the Sooners.
