Sunday, February 20, 2005

Did We Really Win??

Tommie Eddie hit two free throws with 32.7 seconds left to lift Mississippi to a 60-58 victory over Tennessee on Saturday night.
After Eddie's free throws made it 59-58, the Volunteers got the ball back and called time out with 14.3 seconds left. But Dane Bradshaw missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Cavadas Nunnery made it a two-point game with a free throw with less than a second remaining. He missed his second attempt and time expired during the rebound.
Eddie was dominant late in the game, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the final 11 minutes of the second half.
Kendrick Fox added 13 points for Mississippi (13-13, 4-9 Southeastern Conference), which snapped a three-game losing streak and got back to .500 with three games left before the league tournament.
It was a tight game throughout with six ties and 14 lead changes.
Freshman Chris Lofton's 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining gave the Volunteers a 58-57 lead. Eddie was fouled in the paint on the Rebels' ensuing possession, and made both free throws to give Ole Miss the lead for good.
Lofton had 17 points and C.J. Watson added 16 for Tennessee (11-14, 4-8), which has lost three straight and seven of eight.

The Rebels do not play again for another week. They will travel to the Hump to take on MS State. Ole Miss still has a slight chance of an NIT birth, but will have to really fight for it.