The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Memphis
Ole Miss Falls To Memphis
12/17/2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2005
Final Stats
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Rodney Carney, Memphis' sixth man, scored 19 points to lead the fifth-ranked Tigers to a 72-49 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.
The Tigers (8-1) never trailed, led by as many as 24 points and shot nearly 44 percent in winning their fifth straight game.
Memphis coach John Calipari started three freshmen and two sophomores, but the Tigers received the bulk of their production from their sixth man.
Carney, a senior captain and the preseason player of the year in Conference USA, showed off a variety of highlight-reel dunks and sent home happy a huge group of Memphis fans who made the 90-mile drive to Oxford.
Shawne Williams added 13 points for the Tigers, while Darius Washington Jr. had five points - more than 10 below his average.
The Tigers turned this one into a rout with a dominating finish to the first half.
Ole Miss pulled to 23-22 on a 3-pointer by Todd Abernethy with just under 6 minutes left until halftime. Memphis countered with a Carney-keyed 16-4 run over the final 5:18 to push its lead into double figures for good.
Carney had six points during the stretch, and capped it by converting a three-point play after he was fouled on a dunk to make it 39-26 at halftime.
Ole Miss didn't get closer than 11 points in the second half.
Clarence Sanders led the Rebels (6-3) with 13 points. Leading scorer Dwayne Curtis was held to six points, more than six below his average, and the 290-pound transfer from Auburn was largely ineffective against the quicker Tigers.
Memphis outrebounded Ole Miss 50-33 and held the Rebels to 29 percent shooting.
The Rebels haven't beaten a ranked non-Southeastern Conference opponent since upsetting then-No. 22 Memphis four years ago.
The Tigers lead the series 25-11. Ole Miss snapped Memphis' 24-game home winning streak last season.
