The University of Mississippi Athletics
No. 20 Ole Miss Earns OT Win In Southaven
12/17/2009 | Men's Basketball
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) - Chris Warren scored a career-high 32 points - 11 in overtime - and No. 20 Ole Miss erased a late deficit for the third straight game, beating Texas-El Paso 91-81 on Wednesday night.
Terrico White hit two 3-pointers and had three key rebounds in the final minutes, finishing with 19 points for the Rebels (9-1), who won their fifth straight.
Warren scored 17 points in the first 15 minutes of the game, but the Miners (5-2) held him scoreless for the next 24 minutes and built a 12-point lead with 5:31 to play.
Warren's two free throws with 48 seconds left gave Ole Miss a 71-70 lead and White pushed that to 72-70 with a free throw by White, but Arnett Moultrie hit a short jumper with 10 seconds left in regulation.
Warren was 9 of 10 from the free throw line in overtime and Ole Miss was 13 of 15.
Randy Culpepper scored 19 points for the Miners and Derrick Caracter finished with 15.
Forced to erase late deficits in their last two wins because of slow starts, the Rebels went ahead 12-2 after hitting their first five shots and forcing four turnovers in the first 4 minutes.
The Miners responded with a 14-5 run to cut the lead to 17-16, but Warren hit a 3-pointer to end the drive and went on a tear.
He hit five of his first six 3-point attempts, helping push Ole Miss' halftime lead to 41-33. But his inability to score in the second half handcuffed the Rebels.
The Miners started the second half by hitting six of their first seven shots and held Ole Miss without a field goal for stretches of 6:30 and 3:55. Corresponding runs of 12-0 and 11-0 gave them a 70-58 lead with 5:31 remaining, and the Rebels' three-man frontcourt rotation was on the bench with 11 combined fouls.
As they did against McNeese State and Southern Mississippi, though, they rallied late.
White hit 3s from each wing to cut the lead to 70-65. Warren scored four points on two straight possessions that were set up when Eniel Polynice forced a turnover each time.