The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
6-0
Kansas State
2-3
Ole Miss Men's Basketball Beats Kansas State 60-46
12/5/2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2000
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Jason Holmes scored a career-high 17 points and Mississippi stretched its non-conference home winning streak to 40 games Tuesday as the Rebels defeated Kansas State 60-46.
Ole Miss (6-0) never trailed, but the team was sluggish coming off a win over previously unbeaten No. 14 Oklahoma.
Holmes, who had scored only 16 points in the previous five games, hit 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Rahim Lockhart added 12 points for the Rebels.
"Jason's a good player, but not much had been happening for him. Tonight, it happened and he took advantage of it," Mississippi coach Rod Barnes said. "We're dependent upon each other and every night, it's been a different player.
Kelvin Howell kept the Wildcats close in the opening three minutes, accounting for all of Kansas State's points in an 8-7 deficit. Ole Miss shut out the Wildcats over the next six minutes to build a 17-7 lead.
Kansas State (2-3) cut the deficit to 27-20 on a Travis Reynolds jumper with 5:35 left. Ole Miss closed the first half with a 12-6 run to take a 39-26 halftime lead. Holmes didn't miss a shot in the first half, hitting five straight from the field, including three from three-point range.
Ole Miss built the lead to 44-27 with 17 minutes remaining on a Holmes basket before going four minutes without scoring. Kansas State got as close as 44-33 on a Joe Leonard dunk before Ole Miss put out the rally with consecutive baskets from point guard Jason Harrison.
"Their defense was the difference," Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge said. "We never got anything going offensively consistently. Ole Miss really plays hard and has a real sense of team chemistry."
The game's biggest lead, 53-33, came with 8:23 left on a Rahim Lockhart layup. The Wildcats, despite a late 9-1 run, never got closer than 12 points again. Matt Siebrandt led the Wildcats with 11 points, who managed only 18-of-47 from the field, for 38 percent.
