The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
3-1
Austin Peay
2-2
Ole Miss Handles Austin Peay, 74-46
12/4/2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec 4, 2002
Box Score
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Aaron Harper scored 17 points and Justin Reed added 13 as Mississippi defeated Austin Peay 74-46 on Wednesday night.
Harper, who leads the team in scoring, was 4-for-8 from 3-point range. David Sanders and Derrick Allen each had 10 for the Rebels (3-1), who have won three straight.
Corey Gipson led Austin Peay (2-2) with 12 points, four below his average. The Governors made just 27 percent of their shots and were outrebounded 46-33.
Austin Peay got within 13 points early in the second half, but never pulled any closer.
Sanders drove by Maurice Hampton, hit an off-balanced shot and was fouled with 15:52 left. He converted the three-point play to make it 43-25.
Sanders' follow slam off Harper's miss with about 10 minutes left made it 52-34 and began a spurt that put the game away for good.
Moments later, Emmanuel Wade sank a 3-pointer from 22 feet and Austin Peay called a timeout. It didn't help stop the Rebels' run as Harper sank a 3 from the same spot as Wade to make it 58-34 after the timeout.
Austin Peay was 7-for-30 from the floor in the second half.
The lead reached 30 with about six minutes left when John Gunn made a layup to make it 66-36.
Ole Miss took control of the game at the end of the first half by outscoring the Governors 22-10 in the final eight minutes.
Gunn's hook shot with less than two minutes in the first gave the Rebels a 36-18 lead.
