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Ole Miss Defeats LSU in Overtime
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) – Marshall Henderson curled around a screen a few feet behind the 3-point line with two LSU defenders draped all over him.
The Ole Miss guard was not open. Not even close. But he leapt into the air and let one fly anyway.
It splashed through the net as he was fouled and Tad Smith Coliseum exploded with cheers. The Rebels’ no-conscience shooter was back and he poured in 25 points to lead Ole Miss to an 88-74 victory over LSU on Wednesday night.
“You know what’s sick? I expect them to go in,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “That’s sick. Of course, I’m the one that lets him shoot them all.”
Henderson started slowly, but scored 19 points after halftime. He made a crucial 3-pointer midway through overtime that gave the Rebels (11-5, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) a 76-69 lead.
Ole Miss went on an 11-0 run to start overtime for an insurmountable 80-69 lead. Freshman Sebastian Saiz added a career-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Aaron Jones had 13 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
Jarvis Summers scored 20 for the Rebels, including a 15-foot jumper with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 69. LSU’s Anthony Hickey missed a jumper with 4 seconds left in regulation that would have won the game.
“It was a good shot, I got what I wanted,” Hickey said. “I just wasn’t able to make it. They hit the tough shots when they were down.”
Andre Stringer scored 23 points for LSU (10-5, 1-2). He led a Tigers bench that combined for 40 points. Shavon Coleman added 15 points and Jarell Martin 14.
Ole Miss has won six of the last seven against LSU.
Henderson missed the Auburn and Mississippi State games because of a suspension announced in October for poor on- and off-the-court behavior stemming from last season. He was excellent in his return, making 6 of 12 shots from 3-point range and adding a career-high seven assists.
“Watching those (Auburn and Mississippi State) games — I was just pulling my hair out,” Henderson said. “I was ready to get back out there. It felt really good to be back out there.”
LSU jumped out to an early 14-6 lead, and the Rebels’ lethargic play combined with some unfriendly whistles from the officials drew the wrath of Kennedy.
He earned a rare technical foul after Demarco Cox was called for a foul, and the Rebels responded to Kennedy’s scathing sideline commentary with a 25-11 run over the next 10 minutes. Ole Miss led 35-32 at halftime.
The 6-foot-9, 233-pound Saiz was dominant in the first half, playing his best basketball of the season. He was 6 of 7 for 12 points, finishing on an array of dunks and smooth moves by the rim.
LSU countered with Stringer, who scored 10 points in the first half. Then the 5-foot-10 guard — a Jackson, Miss., native — single-handedly helped the Tigers leap past the Rebels early in the second half by making three 3-pointers in less than 2 minutes.
The only thing that could stop Stringer was foul trouble. He picked up his fourth with 13 minutes remaining in the game and had to go to the bench.
The game stayed tight throughout the entire second half. LSU had a slim lead most of the time, but Henderson hit a contested 3-pointer — while being fouled — and finished the four-point play to push the Rebels ahead 62-61 with 4:45 remaining.
But LSU kept getting big offensive rebounds down the stretch and led 67-62 with 2:21 remaining. Ole Miss rallied, using Summers’ clutch jumper to force overtime.
In overtime, it was all Ole Miss. LSU didn’t score for nearly 4 minutes as the Rebels coasted to the win.
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