FAYETTEVILLE — Ole Miss’ game-changing plays in Tuesday’s 77-75 victory at Arkansas were strictly products of the Rebels’ blueprint: Pound the ball low and attack the backboard.
Murphy Holloway had an unguarded putback of a missed shot by Jarvis Summers — Holloway’s 16th rebound and 16th point — to give the Rebels a 74-73 lead with 32 seconds remaining.
Then Terrance Henry took an inbound pass and drove the length of the court for a short bank and threepoint play to make it 77-75 with 8.2 seconds left.
“I wasn’t stopping,” Henry said.
Ole Miss’ hard-charging drives led to a flurry of fouls and a 32-14 edge in freethrow attempts.
Ole Miss outrebounded the Hogs 44-35 and owned a 16-12 advantage on the offensive boards.
“The guard just didn’t drop down and box me out, so I just got to the open lane to hit the [putback],” Holloway said of his goahead basket.
“The first game, we outrebounded them by [48-26], so we wanted to attack the glass,” Henry said. “That’s what our strengths are.”
Mitchell’s dunk
Brandon Mitchell, Arkansas’ first player off the bench, had a signature moment during one of the Razorbacks’ big runs: A onehanded slam in the face of Ole Miss’ Terrance Henry that could have been headed for SportsCenter top play status.
Mitchell, the Hogs’ sixth man for the first time this season, scored Arkansas’ first two baskets in the second half after a 7-0 Ole Miss run. Then he tipped an offensive board to Hunter Mickelson, who zipped a pass to Julysses Nobles, who passed to Mardracus Wade for a threepointer. His dunk came a few moments later to give Arkansas a 47-37 lead.
Mitchell and Wade combined for Arkansas’ first 20 points of the second half.
Rebels run
Ole Miss extended its streak of victories at Walton Arena to four games, the best of any opponent, with three on Arkansas’ home finales.
The streak began with a 98-91 overtime victory on Senior Night in 2009, included a 68-66 victory on Senior Night in 2010 and a 69-60 victory last season.
“It’s odd,” Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy said. “In this environment, I’ve got a lot of respect for Arkansas basketball and the passion that this place has. ... I can’t explain it.”
Spry Ky
Ky Madden had his best game in almost a month for Arkansas with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Madden hit a free throw at the 11:19 mark of the first half as the first point in a 25-8 Arkansas run that wiped out a six-point deficit. The Lepanto native also hit a three-pointer and a layup in the streak.
Wade streaks
After a scoreless first half, Arkansas’ Mardracus Wade hit four three-pointers in a three-minute span of the second half, leading a 22-8 charge as part of his 14-point performance.
“They shaded a little bit and I’ve always been taught not to force anything and let the game come to you,” Wade said. “Second half, I got a couple of creases, got a couple good looks.”
The SEC’s top three-point shooter, Wade has now made 63 of 132 (47.7 percent) shots beyond the arc.
Reverse oop
Hunter Mickelson made a nice adjustment in midair, caught a pass from Julysses Nobles and laid in a reverse layup. The fast break basket finished a 7-0 run that gave the Hogs a 15-14 lead, their first since BJ Young’s short jumper opened the scoring.
Worth noting
Ole Miss’ Murphy Holloway had 30 rebounds in two victories against Arkansas this season.
Freshman Devonta Abron had no points and two rebounds in just three minutes, his shortest playing time since playing three minutes against Houston on Nov. 18.
Arkansas has lost three games in a row at Walton Arena for the first time since the 2008-2009 team fell to Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU at home.
With its victory, Ole Miss broke a 20-20 series record with Arkansas since the Hogs joined the SEC. The Razorbacks own a 41-29 record against the Rebels overall.
Mississippi native Julysses Nobles came off the bench for Arkansas and made 3 of 6 three-pointers and scored 13 points.
Sports, Pages 26 on 02/29/2012