South Carolina Gamecocks at Ole Miss Rebels

Mississippi tops South Carolina 75-71

It couldn't have come at a better time.

Minutes away from a crushing defeat, Ole Miss rallied for one of its biggest wins of the season, beating South Carolina 75-71 on Saturday after erasing a 15-point deficit in the second half.

"That was big-time basketball," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "You're down 15 against a team that's playing well and you're on your heels. Then you make everything happen. You make it happen defensively, you make timely shots, you execute, you come up with loose balls, you make free throws. That was a tremendous effort."

Then the 6-foot-3 guard hit an 18-foot jumper and a layup to keep the Rebels ahead in the tense final minutes. He also tipped away in the loose ball as the clock wound down, allowing Ole Miss to keep possession and hang on for the victory.

He finished 6 of 11 from the field and had eight assists.

Marshall Henderson led the Rebels with 21 points and also had four steals. White scored 12 and Aaron Jones added 11. The Rebels (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) shot 44.1 percent (26 of 59) from the field.

South Carolina pushed ahead 61-46 with 10:53 remaining, but that's when Ole Miss started its methodical comeback.

South Carolina's Brenton Williams scored 23 points and Sindarius Thornwell added 18. The Gamecocks (8-13, 1-7) also lost to Ole Miss 75-74 on Feb. 1 in Columbia.

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.

It didn't happen. Ole Miss closed the game on a 29-10 run.

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

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

"We grew up today," White said. "I'm just speechless right now. I feel like if this had happened last year or the year before, we would have fell short, but this team has a bond that can't be broken. We stuck by each other."

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.

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Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP

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