Rebels Drop 73-71 Heartbreaker to No. 7 Vols

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to No. 7 Tennessee, 73-71, in front of a sold out crowd at The Pavilion Wednesday night. The Rebels (19-9, 9-6 SEC) led by three with 33 seconds to go, but Grant Williams' bucket with 4.3 seconds left flipped the game to the Volunteers (25-3, 13-2 SEC).

Terence Davis and Breein Tyree scored 16 points apiece to pace the Rebels in scoring. Along with going 5 of 10 from the floor, Tyree dished out a team-high five assists. Freshman forward Blake Hinson added 14 points, while senior Bruce Stevens registered a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. As a team, Ole Miss shot 41.4 percent (24 of 58) from the floor and went 14 of 15 (93.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Along with hitting the game-winner, Williams recorded 21 points to lead the Volunteers. Lamonte Turner scored 17, and Ole Miss held Admiral Schofield to 11 points. Tennessee proved its No. 2 national ranking in field goal percentage by shooting 51.8 percent (29 of 56) throughout the night. The Volunteers also controlled the paint 36-18.

Tennessee took an early 11-3 lead, forcing the Rebels to miss nine of their first 10 shots. However, Ole Miss responded with an 13-4 run as the Volunteers coughed the ball up four times in six possessions. Devontae Shuler hit a transition jumper to break the cold start. The stretch was highlighted by a Terence Davis steal and dunk that brought the sellout crowd to their feet. The senior made the poster slam and drew a foul, converting the free throw to tie the game. After Tennessee broke the standstill, Davis drilled a three to give Ole Miss its first lead of the game, 16-15, midway through the first half.

The Volunteers had a five-point advantage before another run flipped the game back into Ole Miss' favor. Stevens found Terence Davis for a thunderous alley-oop to spark the rally. Tyree nailed a three to tie the game at 25-25. Once again Tennessee answered with a basket down low until Davis' long ball put the Rebels up one. Following a stop on the other end, KJ Buffen grabbed his own miss and finished at the rim while drawing a foul. The three-point play made it 31-27 Ole Miss.

The Rebels bumped the margin to five, taking a 39-34 lead into the locker room behind 11 points from Terence Davis. Ole Miss had balanced scoring the rest of the way with five Rebels scoring at least five first half points. While Tennessee held a 22-12 advantage in the paint, Ole Miss knocked down 5 of 11 (45.5 percent) three-pointers.

Hinson hit a jumper to start the second half, but a seven-point cushion quickly turned into a seven-point deficit due to a 14-0 Tennessee run. Shuler and Hinson hit threes on back-to-back possessions made it a one-point game, but seven straight points by the Volunteers pushed it 57-49.

The seesaw battle continued as Ole Miss answered with a 9-0 run of its own to grab the lead back from the visitors. Dominik Olejniczak rejected a UT shot down low before converting at the rim on the offensive end of the floor. Tyree went up-and-under for a slick deuce before Terence Davis' corner three put the Rebels back in front 58-57 with 10:12 to go.

With Tennessee holding a one-point lead with less than three minutes remaining, Tyree hit a three to make it 69-67 in favor of the Rebels. Hinson increased the advantage to three by making two free throws with 33 seconds to go. Jordan Bowden's jumper got Tennessee within one before Tyree's front end of the one-and-one bounced off the rim. The Volunteers put the ball into the hands of the reigning SEC Player of the Year, and Williams drove the lane to sink the game-winning basket with 4.3 seconds remaining. Shuler took the ball past half court before pulling up for the go-ahead three, but he was called for an offensive foul to allow the Volunteers to escape Oxford with the victory.

The Rebels hit the road Saturday (March 2), heading west to face Arkansas for the second time this season. In the first matchup, Ole Miss cruised to an 84-67 victory at The Pavilion (Jan. 19). Tipoff for round two between the Rebels and Razorbacks is set for at 12 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

For the latest news and updates regarding Ole Miss Men's Basketball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMBB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Basketball and on Instagram at olemissmbb.

TIP-INS

Ole Miss dropped to 17-2 when leading at the half.
The Rebels went 14 of 15 (93.3 percent) at the free throw line, shooting over 93 percent in a game from the stripe for the fourth time this season.
Ole Miss fell to 2-3 against ranked teams.
With 10 points and 10 rebounds, Bruce Stevens recorded his first double-double of the season and the third of his career.
Terence Davis hit a trio of threes to bump his career total to 165, passing Jason Harrison (163) for seventh on the all-time list; Davis also recorded a steal to sit alone in 10th on the Ole Miss career chart with 134 steals, passing Keith Carter and Aaron Harper.
Scoring 16 points, Breein Tyree passed Terrance Henry (1,095) and Fred Cox (1,105) to move to 33rd on the Ole Miss scoring list with 1,108 points.
Blake Hinson tallied 14 points, his most in a game since his career-high 26 points at Mississippi State (Jan. 12).
Tonight's game was the fourth sellout of the season and the eighth in the history of The Pavilion.

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Team Stats

Breein Tyree

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Bruce Stevens

Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

The University of Mississippi Athletics