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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
10-6, 1-2SEC
LSU
13-3, 2-1SEC
Rebels Drop SEC Battle to Tigers
1/14/2015 | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - Four Rebels scored in double figures, led by senior forward M.J. Rhett with 15 points, as Ole Miss dropped a Southeastern Conference battle to LSU 75-71 on Wednesday night at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
"I told the team that I didn't like our pop, meaning I didn't like our fight," head cosh Andy Kennedy said. "I didn't think we had pep in our step. We looked lethargic. How can we be lethargic in these situations. It boggles my mind."
LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
Hornsby was joined in double figures by three teammates, all of whom recorded double-doubles, in sophomore forward Jarell Martin (18 points and 14 rebounds), junior guard Josh Gray (14 points and 10 assists) and sophomore forward Jordan Mickey (11 points and 11 rebounds).
"You can't leave No. 4 (Hornsby) in the zone," Kennedy said. "You can leave No. 5 (Gray), No. 15 (Jalyn Patterson), No. 1 (Martin), No. 25 (Mickey) or No. 22 (Darcy Malone), but you can't leave No. 4, and we left him, and he made us pay. He made huge, huge shots. He not only went 5-of-10 from 3, but the timing of all five were big. Those are things you can't do."
For Rhett, it was his most points in an Ole Miss uniform, scoring 12 of his team-high 15 points in the second half. He was joined in double figures by junior guard Stefan Moody (14 points), senior guard Jarvis Summers (13 points) and sophomore forward Dwight Coleby (10 points).
LSU held Ole Miss to 34.6 percent (27-of-78) shooting, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range.
"When our big three -- Snoop (White), Jarvis and Moody -- go 14-for-45, you're not going have a lot of success because they're our primary shot-makers and our primary shot-getters," Kennedy said. "We didn't finish tonight."
In a first half that featured two ties and nine lead changes, LSU finished the half on an 13-2 to take a 32-28 lead into halftime. The stretch included an 11-2 LSU run and a 3:43 scoring drought for Ole Miss after Summers picked up his second foul at the 2:59 mark and sat for the rest of the half.
The Tigers opened the second half on an 11-4 run to stretch the lead to 43-32, their largest lead of the game. Rhett scored each of the first eight points of the second half for Ole Miss to keep the game within reach, before the Rebels exploded for a 12-0 run to take a 44-43 lead with 13:41 left, their last lead of the game.
LSU surged ahead 53-46 behind a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Hornsby at the 11:40 mark, his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Ole Miss drew to within one, 62-61, after a 3-pointer from Moody at the 6:26 mark. The Rebels had opportunities, down 64-61 and 66-63, but they were unable to get any closer, as they did not make another field goal until the 1:37 mark.
"We had an inability to make a timely shot when it counted," Kennedy said. "Hornsby made them, we didn't."
Ole Miss hits the road for a two-game road swing, starting with Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville, followed by Georgia on Tuesday in Athens, before returning home the following Saturday against Florida.
