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Tennessee rallies in closing minutes to beat Ole Miss 75-66 (Feb 08, 2017)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Three weeks after Tennessee blew a second-half lead at Mississippi, the two teams reversed roles in the rematch.
Grant Williams and Robert Hubbs III each scored 18 points on Wednesday as the Volunteers came from behind in the closing minutes to defeat Mississippi 75-66.
After trailing for most of the second half, Tennessee (14-10, 6-5 SEC) finished the game on a 15-2 run. That represented a stunning change from their Jan. 17 matchup, when Tennessee squandered a 13-point lead in the final 15 minutes of an 80-69 loss at Ole Miss.
''We knew they out-toughed us last game. ... This was a must-win for us,'' Hubbs said. ''We had to come out and just do everything right.''
Hubbs has been dealing with a knee problem and other injuries as well as a case of the flu, but his hustle helped Tennessee rally down the stretch.
When Jordan Bowden missed a 3-pointer, Hubbs chased after the rebound, kept it from going out of bounds and passed to Williams for a basket that tied the score at 64-all with 2:52 remaining.
Following an Ole Miss turnover, Hubbs' driving layup put the Vols ahead for good with 2:08 left.
''I was a little under the weather, but that's not going to stop me from playing,'' Hubbs said. ''I felt fine once I got out there and got in a rhythm.''
After Breein Tyree gave Ole Miss (14-10, 5-6) a 64-60 lead with 3:56 left, the Rebels wouldn't make another basket the rest of the night.
''It's definitely a learning experience,'' Tyree said. ''Me and my team are going to take this and we're going to watch this film. It hurts, but it's part of the game.''
Bowden scored 14 points and made a critical 3-pointer that gave the Vols a five-point edge with 53.5 seconds left.
Terence Davis had 14 points for Ole Miss. Sebastian Saiz finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Tyree had 12 points.
After trailing 38-34 at halftime, Tennessee tied the game at 43-all on a Hubbs jumper with 15:22 left. But the Vols wouldn't make another basket for nearly 7 1/2 minutes.
Ole Miss regained its four-point edge by getting dunks from Marcanvis Hymon on consecutive possessions. The Rebels would stay in front until Tennessee dominated the last few minutes.
Tennessee's comeback came just four days after the Vols blew a 19-point lead in a 64-59 loss at Mississippi State. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after that game that the Vols needed to play more aggressively when the momentum was swinging against them.
''The biggest difference is we played to win tonight,'' Barnes said. ''We kept trying to make plays.''
BIG PICTURE
Ole Miss: A couple of critical turnovers haunted Ole Miss down the stretch. Ole Miss led 64-62 with less than 3 1/2 minutes left when Tyree lost control of the ball and allowed it to go out of bounds as he was driving toward the basket. The game was tied when Davis traveled on the Rebels' next possession. Ole Miss' lead vanished for good soon thereafter.
Tennessee: Even as Tennessee struggled to make baskets for much of the second half, the Vols stayed close by drawing fouls and getting into the bonus with over 13 1/2 minutes remaining. Tennessee was 25 of 36 on free throws, including 17 of 27 in the second half. Ole Miss was 13 of 16 on free throws, including 6 of 8 in the second half.
MUDDLED IN THE MIDDLE
Ole Miss and Tennessee headed into this matchup tied for sixth place in the SEC and eager to break out of the logjam in the middle of the league standings. Half of the SEC's 14 members entered Wednesday with either five or six conference losses.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
Williams had seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals to go along with his 18 points. ... Ole Miss had 18 turnovers and just nine assists. The Rebels had been averaging just eight turnovers in the three games leading up to this one. ... Saiz had his 26th career double-double. He's the only SEC player averaging a double-double.
UP NEXT
Ole Miss hosts Auburn on Saturday.
Tennessee hosts Georgia on Saturday.
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The Ole Miss portion of the ''Big Picture'' section has been corrected to reflect the accurate scores when the Rebels committed their two critical turnovers.
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More AP College Basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org
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