Arkansas nips Ole Miss in final seconds

Published 12:10 am Sunday, February 15, 2015

OXFORD (AP) — Manuale Watkins hit a short jumper with 6.4 seconds remaining to lift No. 24 Arkansas over Ole Miss 71-70 on Saturday night.

Arkansas (20-5, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) won for the seventh time in eight games to take sole possession of second place in the league.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Ole Miss. The Rebels (17-8, 8-4) trailed for nearly the entire game until LaDarius White hit a short jumper with 8:35 remaining to give them a 58-57 lead. It stayed close until the end, but Watkins’ jumper proved to be the difference.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers had a chance to win it with a mid-range jumper in the final seconds, but it bounced off the rim. M.J. Rhett and Stefan Moody led the Rebels with 16 points each.

Michael Qualls led Arkansas with 15 points. Anton Beard scored 14 off the bench.

It was a fast-paced game between two of the league’s best offenses, but only the Razorbacks were hitting shots with any regularity early. Arkansas jumped out to a 40-36 lead by halftime thanks to 51.4 percent shooting (18-of-35) from the field and 10 points from Bobby Portis.

Arkansas avenged a 96-82 home loss to Ole Miss last month. The Rebels shot 56.4 percent in that game.

Arkansas was better on the defensive end Saturday, holding Ole Miss to 34.3 percent shooting in the first half. The Rebels stayed in the game thanks to 21 offensive rebounds and a 45-31 overall rebounding advantage.