The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Slips by South Carolina
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 1999
By TOM SALADINO
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - Jason Smith matched his career-high with 24 points and added 14 rebounds to help Mississippi overcome the second-half shooting of BJ McKie for a 64-60 victory over South Carolina in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday night.
Mississippi (19-11) will play No. 14 Kentucky, which has won the SEC tourney the last two years and six of the last seven, in Friday's quarterfinals.
The Rebels, who didn't score a basket after Keith Carter's 3-point basket with 7:21 left for a 53-44 lead, made 11 of 14 free throws the rest of the way. Carter made 4-of-4 and Jason Harrison added 4-of-6.
McKie, who scored 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, kept the Gamecocks (8-21) in the game, scoring 12 straight at one point, including a basket that got South Carolina within 58-56 with 1:43 left.
After a free throws by Harrison, South Carolina's Antonio Grant scored off a rebound to get the Gamecocks within 59-58 with 58 seconds left.
But Mississippi closed it out by making five of its next six free throws, including two by Marcus Hicks, two by Carter and another by Harrison for a 64-58 lead before McKie's basket at the buzzer.
Smith scored 12 points in each half, equaling the career-high 24 points he had scored twice before, the last against Alabama on Feb. 24.
Trailing 20-18, Mississippi outscored South Carolina 13-5 over the final 5:42 of the first half to take a 31-25 lead at intermission with Jason Smith scoring 12 of his xx points.
South Carolina had beaten Mississippi 67-66 in Columbia on Jan. 27 in the only meeting this season between the two schools.
