Ole Miss' mastery continues

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

OXFORD, Miss. -- Arkansas still has a big lead in its series against Ole Miss, but the Rebels have been making up a lot of ground lately.
Ole Miss beat Arkansas 84-73 Wednesday night before 8,085 fans in Tad Smith Coliseum to give the Rebels a regular-season sweep, make them 8-2 in the teams' last 10 meetings and cut the Razorbacks' overall advantage to 34-14.
The Rebels (16-3, 4-3) moved into sole possession of second place in the SEC West behind Alabama as the Razorbacks (12-7, 3-4) lost at Ole Miss for the fifth consecutive year.
Sophomore guard David Sanders led Ole Miss with 19 points. Freshman guard Aaron Harper added 14 points, senior forward Rahim Lockhart 13, and the Rebels got 12 each from junior guard Jason Harrison of Little Rock Parkview and freshman guard Justin Reed.
Junior guard Jannero Pargo led Arkansas with 20 points, all in the second half. Sophomore guard Joe Johnson added 17 points and sophomore forward Carl Baker 13.
Arkansas led 48-41 after Johnson hit a layup with 13:10 left.
The Rebels then outscored the Razorbacks 14-0 over a 3:18 span to take a 55-48 lead with nine minutes remaining.
Harper hit two three-pointers to start the Ole Miss run. The Rebels also got two baskets inside by Reed and a three-point play by Lockhart.
Johnson hit a three-pointer for Arkansas' first points in a 4:39 span, pulling the Razorbacks within 55-51 at the 8:51 mark.
Ole Miss then went on a 7-0 run, with Sanders scoring five points, to push its lead to 62-51 with 6:25 left.
Arkansas didn't pull closer than six points the rest of the game.
A three-point play by Sanders that put the Rebels ahead 82-73 with 36.5 seconds left sealed the victory.
The Rebels hung on by hitting 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:42, as Harrison, Harper, Sanders and Reed made two each.
Sanders punctuated the victory with a breakaway dunk with two seconds left.
Pargo scored the first five points of the second half to give the Razorbacks a 32-25 lead with 18:36 left.
Ole Miss came back to tie it 32-32 on senior guard Jason Flanigan's driving basket.
The Razorbacks then went ahead 33-32 when senior guard Brandon Davis hit 1 of 2 free throws after Sanders had been called on the intentional foul. On Arkansas' ensuing possession, Baker was fouled and hit two free throws to make it 35-32.
Ole Miss took a 38-37 lead on a three-point play by Reed, then saw Arkansas get three consecutive three-pointers in a 1:05 span -- two by Pargo and one by junior guard Teddy Gipson -- to take a 46-40 lead 13:43 left.
Johnson hit 2 of 2 free throws with 1:45 left in the first half and Gipson hit 1 of 2 19 seconds later to give the Razorbacks a 27-25 halftime lead after they had trailed by as many as eight points.
Ole Miss jumped to a 4-0 lead on two free throws by Flanigan and a bank shot by Lockhart.
Arkansas scored its first point with 15:36 left in the half when Gipson hit 1 of 2 free throws to make 4-1.
The Razorbacks then moved ahead 5-4 as Johnson hit two free throws and Gipson scored on a drive.
Ole Miss outscored Arkansas 11-2 over a 5:40 span, including three-pointers by Harrison and Jason Holmes, to take a 15-7 lead with 8:40 left.
Johnson then came alive, hitting a three-pointer, scoring on a drive and getting an assist on a layup by sophomore forward Alonzo Lane, to fuel an 11-1 run by the Razorbacks that moved them ahead 18-16.
Harper's three-pointer put the Rebels back ahead, 21-20.
Arkansas then took a 24-21 lead, its largest of the half, as Brandon Dean hit a 12-foot jumper and Baker scored on a layup with an assist by Johnson after a steal by Blake Eddins.
Ole Miss went ahead 25-24 on a steal and dunk by Sanders at the 1:54 mark.

This article was published on Thursday, February 1, 2001

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