Ole Miss rallies to beat Auburn for SEC win

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Posted 6:53AM on Thursday, January 10, 2002

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - Coming off one of the worst games of his career, Justin Reed was feeling down on himself. He had managed just two points before fouling out as Mississippi lost to Tennessee on Sunday. But the Rebels' leading scorer got a pep talk from his coach and bounced back in fine fashion. Reed had 21 points and eight rebounds as Ole Miss rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to defeat Auburn 69-65 on Wednesday night. ``I got off to rough start against Tennessee and didn't really help the team,'' the sophomore forward said. ``Coach (Rod) Barnes told me to have fun and play with confidence.'' Aaron Harper's 100th career 3-pointer gave Ole Miss (12-3, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) a 60-57 lead with 2:58 left. The Rebels made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 56 seconds to complete the comeback. Jason Harrison had 14 points and Derrick Allen had 13 for Ole Miss. Harper had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick Byrd led Auburn (8-5, 0-2) with 17 points, Marco Killingsworth had 11 and Brandon Robinson 10. Reed was 7-for-18 from the field and 6-for-7 from the line. His baseline jumper with 2:21 left gave Ole Miss a 62-57 lead. ``He's got to have fun with basketball,'' Barnes said. ``The rest of it will take care of itself.'' Auburn dominated the first 10 minutes, opening with eight consecutive points en route to a 27-7 lead. ``When were down 20, we were concerned, but we didn't think we were out. We knew we had to chip away and we did that,'' Reed said. Ole Miss answered with a 14-0 run to cut the lead to 27-21 with 5:55 left. Harrison had two baskets, two steals and an assist to spark the rally. Auburn broke the surge with consecutive dunks by Robinson. The Tigers led 35-28 at halftime, limiting Ole Miss to 9-of-27 from the field. The Rebels, the SEC leaders in three-point percentage, were held to 3-of-12 on 3s in the first half. Ole Miss evened the score at 52 with 7:25 left on Allen's layup, capping an 8-1 run. After Robinson hit a free throw, the Rebels took their first lead, 54-53, on a pair of free throws by Harrison with 6:24 left. Harper's milestone 3-pointer put Ole Miss ahead to stay. ``We knew Ole Miss would make a run at us and give them credit,'' Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said. ``They hit the shots, created the turnovers and stuck the free throws in the final minutes.'' Auburn pulled within 64-63 on Adam Harrington's 3-pointer with 39 seconds left. The Tigers made 9-of-20 from 3-point range, but missed two in the final 25 seconds while Ole Miss put it away at the line. The Rebels were 20-for-24 from the line, including 6-for-6 from Harrison.