OXFORD – Texas forward Madison Booker hit a go-ahead jumper with 26 seconds remaining in regulation against Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, and the No. 7 Longhorns overcame an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Rebels 61-58 at SJB Pavilion.
The Longhorns (20-2, 6-1 SEC) outscored the Rebels 13-2 over the final 4:46 of regulation, and Ole Miss did not score over the game’s final four minutes.
With Ole Miss (13-6, 4-3) trailing by three with just over a second to play, Booker stole the inbound pass to seal the game and prevent the Rebels from getting off a final shot. Ole Miss led by eight with just over six minutes to play.
Texas’ Taylor Jones led all scorers with 24 points. Senior guard/forward Madison Scott led Ole Miss with 17 points, and Rebels freshman guard Sira Thienou finished with 14 points. It was Thienou’s 14th game scoring at least 10 points.
“Elite teams figure out a way to win,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “And so, if we want to be elite, we have to figure out a way to win. .. I thought everybody played hard, I thought everybody gave their all. I just think elite teams figure out a way to win when it’s time to do so. And I thought (Texas) dug in.”
Sunday was a matchup of the No. 6 scoring offense and defense nationally, with the Longhorns averaging 87.1 points on offense and the Rebels surrendering 52.9 points a contest. Texas entered the game with four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Booker’s 16.4 points per game.
Ole Miss took a 9-8 lead midway through the first quarter on a 3-pointer from freshman guard Sira Thienou, who scored eight points in the first. Ole Miss hit five of its last six field goal attempts in the quarter and took a seven-point lead into the second.
The Longhorns scored the first 10 points of the second quarter and took a 24-21 lead just less than four minutes into the period. Ole Miss missed nine of its first 10 shots and shot 3 of 16 overall in the second but led 32-28 at halftime. The Rebels finished the half on an 11-4 run.
Texas flipped around an eight-point third-quarter deficit and surged ahead on a Booker jump shot with just under six minutes left in the period. The Longhorns tied the game at 43 with just under three minutes left in the third, although Ole Miss still led by two heading into the fourth.
The Rebels scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and led by eight with just over six minutes to play. An 8-2 run by Texas cut the Ole Miss lead down to two with just under three minutes to play, and a layup by Jones tied the game at 58 with 2:02 left in regulation. Booker’s shot and a free throw from Rori Harmon provided the finishing touches on the Longhorns’ comeback.
Ole Miss was outrebounded 12-6 in the fourth quarter, including 5-1 on offensive rebounds.
“(Texas’) players made plays when it was time to win, and we have to make plays when it’s winning time, too,” McPhee-McCuin said. “That’s how it works. Everybody that knows basketball knows that, and it could have been those rebounds. It doesn’t always have to be a big shot. We come up with those rebounds – that’s something that we could control. We can’t sometimes control if the shot’s going to go in. But a box-out and a rebound? We really needed that.”
Ole Miss plays at Georgia on Thursday at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. After a matchup at Vanderbilt next Sunday, the Rebels have matchups against No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 11 Kentucky.
“It’s not over. And we still have things we’re trying to do. Still have games to win,” Scott said. “This hurts right now, but we’re going to bounce back. No doubt in my mind.”
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