The University of Mississippi Athletics

Ole Miss Pulls Away Late To Beat Auburn
2/11/2012 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2012
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OXFORD, Miss. - Reginald Buckner blocked a pair of shots and Jarvis Summers made keys plays down the stretch to help Ole Miss beat Auburn 61-54 Saturday night at Tad Smith Coliseum.
For the first 24 minutes of play, the Auburn Tigers outplayed, outhustled and outworked the Ole Miss Rebels.
For the final 16 minutes, the Rebels performed like a team seeking revenge. After suffering one of their most heartbreaking losses of the season back on Jan. 14 against Auburn on the road, the Rebels earned some payback at home.
Behind junior Murphy Holloway's memorable second half performance, the Rebels (15-9, 5-5 SEC) were able to erase an 11-point second-half deficit and with the win, get back to .500 in the SEC.
Holloway finished with team highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the year. Nick Williams added 13 points and Jarvis Summers 11 for the Rebels.
Ole Miss trailed 39-28 with 15:30 remaining after Auburn junior Noel Johnson converted on a triple from the right wing.
During the game's next five minutes, Holloway would ignite Ole Miss on a 14-0 run, scoring 12 straight points for the Rebels.
Amidst the run, the Rebels took their first lead since leading 11-10 eight minutes into the contest.
The run ended when Auburn sophomore guard Varez Ward hit a three-pointer that knotted the game at 42 apiece with 9:59 to go.
From that point, the game went back and forth and the teams were tied at 51, with just a little less than three minutes remaining.
The Rebel defense then forced the Tigers into a 35 second shot-clock violation and followed that up with back-to-back offensive scoring possessions, beginning on a steal and deuce from point-guard Jarvis Summers and moments later, a hook shot from center Reginald Buckner to give the Rebels a 55-51 lead that they would hold onto the remainder of the way.
After missing seven of 12 free throw attempts in the first half, Ole Miss trailed 31-24 at the intermission.
Auburn junior guard Frankie Sullivan scored the Tigers' first eight points and finished with a game-high 10 points at the half. But the Rebels regrouped to hold Sullivan scoreless in the second half.
Kenny Gabriel led the Tigers (13-12, 3-8) with 15 points.
Ole Miss will return to action Thursday night when it hosts Vanderbilt at 8:00 p.m. CT in a game scheduled to be nationally televised by ESPN2.