The University of Mississippi Athletics
Road Unkind to Rebels against Tide
2/28/2007 | Men's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Mykal Riley hit a late 3-pointer and freshman Mikhail Torrance scored all eight of his points in the final 5 minutes, helping Alabama pull out a 69-58 victory over Ole Miss on Wednesday night.
Both the Rebels and Crimson Tide remain in the hunt for the SEC Western Division title as they fall into a four-way tie for first in the standings with Mississippi State and Auburn.
The Rebels (18-10, 7-8 Southeastern Conference) closed to within 56-53 on Bam Doyne's jumper with 2:46 to play, but Alabama ended the game on a 13-3 run.
Riley got the decisive spurt started with a 3 from the left corner. Then, Torrance hit four straight free throws to extend the Tide's margin.
Riley finished with 13 points after going 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half. Alonzo Gee had 12 points and 10 rebounds. He and Riley both had just two points at halftime, when Alabama (20-9, 7-8) missed all 11 3-point tries.
The Tide went 6-for-9 from long-range in the second half.
Clarence Sanders led Ole Miss with 18 points, but made just 3-of-14 3-pointers. Dwayne Curtis had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Doyne got in early foul trouble and had just four points.
The Tide's only senior Jermareo Davidson had 12 points in his home finale, as did Richard Hendrix.
The Rebels were just 7-of-30 from 3-point range but outshot Alabama 39 percent to 37 percent. The difference was on the boards. Alabama grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and held a 48-37 advantage.
The Rebels got off to a horrible start, scoring only four points and shooting 2-for-12 in the first 10 minutes to fall behind 14-4.
Alabama salvaged a 24-23 halftime lead when Riley hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound. The only thing that kept Alabama ahead was offensive rebounds with all but nine points coming on second-chance points in the half.
Ole Miss returns home for Auburn Saturday in the regular-season finale. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT.
