In a matchup of teams that have not known much recent SEC tournament success, favor smiled upon Ole Miss.
The Rebels won their first tournament game in four years, beating South Carolina 66-55 Thursday in the second afternoon session game at the Georgia Dome. After three seasons, South Carolina coach Darrin Horn, who said Wednesday that his team was built for tournament play, is still looking for his first SEC tournament victory.
"Execution still leaves a little to be desired, but I thought the effort was tremendous, most especially defensively," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said.
The Gamecocks didn't give themselves much of a chance, shooting just 29.9 percent. One miss along the baseline was rejected by the side of the backboard. They never led after the game's second minute and fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half. USC closed to within one point near the end of the half, but then shot so egregiously enough to fall behind by 14 points again in the first four minutes of the second half.
South Carolina used defensive pressure to pull within 50-45 with 9:38 to play, but failed on three shots that would have closed the gap further. Ole Miss extinguished the Gamecocks with a 12-1 run.
"They made that shot when they needed it and we didn't," Horn said.
South Carolina, the East's sixth seed, ends its season at 14-16, its fourth losing season in five years. The Rebels, the West's third seed, improved to 20-12, Kennedy's fourth 20-win season in five years.
They'll play Kentucky, the East second seed, Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Ole Miss guard Chris Warren scored 20 points and surrendered the ball only once despite handling it most of the time. Among the All-SEC first-teamer's most crucial points was a long 3-pointer that helped Ole Miss gain distance early in the second half.
"It looked to me like he was 25 feet out," Horn said. "He catches it, rises up, knocks that down like it's no big deal."
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