The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels fall to Valparaiso in first round of NCAA Tourney
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
March 13, 1998
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Bryce Drew hit a leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer Friday to give Valparaiso a shocking 70-69 upset of Mississippi in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.
The 13th-seeded Crusaders' first NCAA Tournament victory was set up when Mississippi's Ansu Sesay missed two free throws with 4.3 seconds left.
With 2.5 seconds remaining, Valparaiso's Jamie Sykes threw a long pass from the baseline past midcourt to Bill Jenkins, who directed a touch pass to Drew, the son of Valparaiso coach Homer Drew.
Drew's off-balance shot from the right wing swished, sending the Crusaders onto the floor in celebration.
Drew scored 22 points, including four 3-pointers, as Valparaiso (22-9) won its 12th consecutive game.
The Crusaders will play the winner of Friday's TCU-Florida State matchup in Sunday's second round.
Keith Carter led fourth-seeded Ole Miss (22-7) with 22 points, and Joezen Darby had 13. Sesay was held to 11 points, tying his season low.
Zoran Viskovic scored 19 points for the Crusaders and Jared Nuness had 10.
The Crusaders, who qualified by winning the Mid-Continent Conference tournament, used an aggressive zone defense, forcing Ole Miss to shoot from the perimeter.
The only other meeting between the two schools came in 1970 with Ole Miss winning 80-77 in overtime.
