NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — AJ Storr scored 19 points, Malik Dia added 17, and No. 15 seed Mississippi beat seventh-seeded Georgia 76-72 on Thursday at the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Ole Miss (14-19) plays No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama in the quarterfinals Friday. The Rebels, who beat Texas 76-66 in the first round and have not trailed in the tournament, have won back-to-back games after losing 12 of 13 to close the regular season.
Kanon Catchings made four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals for Georgia (22-10).
Travis Perry hit four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points for Ole Miss. James Scott had 13 rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks, and Ilias Kamardine added eight points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Storr stole a pass from Somto Cyril and raced to the other end for a layup that gave the Rebels a 34-20 lead at the intermission. The Bulldogs made 7 of 26 (26%) from the field, 1 of 12 (8%) from 3-point range, and committed 10 turnovers in their lowest-scoring half this season.
Ole Miss led by as many as 23 points.
Cain, Justin Bailey and Jeremiah Wilkinson hit 3-pointers in an 84-second span to spark a 22-2 run that culminated with a dunk by Dylan James that made it a one-possession game with 7 1/2 minutes to play. Perry answered with a 3-pointer before Wilkinson and Catchings made back-to-back layups that cut Georgia’s deficit to 60-58. Storr scored eight points from there as the Bulldogs were 3-of-12 shooting down the stretch.
Cyril was ejected about two minutes into the second half after he was called for a foul that was upgraded to a Flagrant 2.
Up next
Georgia: Awaits a potential postseason invitation.
Ole Miss: Advances to the quarterfinals.
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