Rebels Drop Heartbreaker To #7 Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Grant Williams scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with four seconds left, to lift No. 7 Tennessee over Mississippi 73-71 on Wednesday night.

Tennessee (25-3, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) bounced back from a tough loss to LSU on Saturday with a hard-fought victory over the Rebels. The Volunteers remain in a three-way tie atop the SEC with LSU and Kentucky.

The Volunteers trailed 39-34 at halftime, but used a 14-0 run early in the second half to jump back ahead. Ole Miss wouldn’t go away, pushing in front 58-57 on Terence Davis’ 3-pointer with 10 minutes left.

From that point forward, it was a back-and-forth struggle. Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree missed the front end of a one-and-one with 18 seconds remaining, Tennessee grabbed the rebound and Williams hit a driving layup in the lane to make it 72-71.

Ole Miss (19-9, 9-6) had one more opportunity in the final seconds, but Devontae Shuler was called for a charge while shooting a deep 3-pointer with a second left. Tyree and Davis led the Rebels with 16 points each.

Tennessee scored the first eight points and led for most of the first half. Ole Miss rallied in the final minutes to take its five-point halftime lead.