Gamecocks blow late lead at Ole Miss

OXFORD, MISS. - Marshall Henderson scored 21 points, Jarvis Summers added 15 and Mississippi rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat South Carolina 75-71 on Saturday.

South Carolina pushed ahead 61-46 with 10:53 remaining, but Ole Miss methodically fought back. Summers drilled a 3-pointer with just under four minutes remaining to give the Rebels a 67-66 lead - their first of the second half.

Summers was clutch in the final minutes, hitting an 18-foot jumper and a layup to keep the Rebels ahead. He also tipped away in the loose ball in the final seconds, allowing Ole Miss to keep possession and hang on for the victory.

Summers, a 6-foot-3 junior point guard, shot 6 of 11 from the field and also had eight assists.

Ole Miss (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) shot 44.1 percent (26 of 59) from the field. LaDarius White scored 12 and Aaron Jones added 11.

South Carolina's Brenton Williams scored 23 points and Sindarius Thornwell added 18. After the Gamecocks (8-13, 1-7) took their 61-46 lead, Ole Miss went on a 21-5 run.

South Carolina lost six in a row to start SEC play, but broke through with an 80-52 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday.

The Gamecocks started hot again on Saturday, shooting 56 percent in the first half to take 40-35 lead. Williams had 13 points in the first half.

And the good times continued in the second half - for a while. Williams made back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Gamecocks ahead 55-44 with 15:27 remaining and it looked like they might cruise.

But Ole Miss recovered. The Rebels were fine for most of the day on offense, but struggled badly on the defensive end until the final minutes.

The holes in the zone disappeared and South Carolina had to work for its shots. Ole Miss forced 18 turnovers and scored 23 points off of those.

South Carolina shot 14 of 25 (56 percent) in the first half, but just 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) in the second half. Duane Notice added 11 points and four assists, but had eight turnovers.

SOUTH CAROLINA (8-13)

Thornwell 6-11 4-4 18, Williams 6-12 6-6 23, Notice 5-9 1-3 11, Henry 0-6 2-4 2, Carrera 2-4 2-6 6, Shaw 0-0 0-0 0, Chatkevicius 2-4 0-0 4, McKie 0-1 0-0 0, Kacinas 2-2 3-4 7. Totals 23-49 18-27 71.

MISSISSIPPI (15-6)

Saiz 3-7 0-0 6, Perez 2-3 1-4 7, Henderson 7-17 5-5 21, Summers 6-11 2-5 15, Jones 4-7 3-3 11, Millinghaus 0-3 0-0 0, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, White 3-8 5-6 12, Coleby 1-3 1-1 3. Totals 26-59 17-24 75.

Halftime_South Carolina 40-35. 3-Point Goals_South Carolina 7-15 (Williams 5-8, Thornwell 2-4, Notice 0-1, Carrera 0-1, McKie 0-1), Mississippi 6-19 (Perez 2-3, Henderson 2-9, Summers 1-2, White 1-3, Millinghaus 0-2). Fouled Out_Perez. Rebounds_South Carolina 38 (Carrera 11), Mississippi 28 (Saiz 6). Assists_South Carolina 13 (Thornwell 6), Mississippi 13 (Summers 8). Total Fouls_South Carolina 21, Mississippi 21. Attendance_6,977.

-The Associated Press