Marshall Henderson and Jarvis Summers both scored 21 points as the Ole Miss Rebels pulled off a 78-66 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second round of the SEC Tournament at the Georgia Dome.
Henderson let fly with 19 3-point tries on the night for the Rebels (19-13), converting seven opportunities, while Summers connected on 3-of-4 on the perimeter and handed out six assists for sixth-seeded Ole Miss which will now take on third-seeded Georgia in the quarterfinals on Friday night. Before fouling out, Anthony Perez accounted for 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Mississippi State (14-19), the 14th seed in the tourney, was paced by Fred Thomas and Craig Sword with 16 points apiece, the latter adding eight rebounds, but also being charged with seven turnovers. IJ Ready chipped in 10 points and Gavin Ware a game-high 10 rebounds in the setback.
Of their 35 field goal attempts in the first half, the Rebels took 18 of those from 3-point range where they made only six, which is why they trailed by nine at the break, 44-35. MSU made good on 57.7 percent from the floor in the period.
In the second half Ole Miss converted a solid 56.0 percent from the floor, but it was more about the defense as it held the Bulldogs to a mere four field goals on 23 attempts.
MSU outscored the Rebels at the free-throw line in the contest, 21-12, but that wasn't nearly enough to overcome 17 turnovers.
[SportsNetwork.com]
