OXFORD, Miss. -- Manny Watkins hit a short floater from the left block with 6.4 seconds remaining and No. 24 Arkansas finished the game with a third consecutive defensive stop to escape with a 71-70 victory over Ole Miss late Saturday at Tad Smith Coliseum.
Watkins' shot, which capped his 4 of 4 night from the floor, came on an assist from Ky Madden, who drove hard down the right side of the lane before being stopped on the right block at the baseline.
Game sketch
RECORDS Arkansas 20-5, 9-3 SEC; Ole Miss 17-8, 8-4
STARS Arkansas’ Michael Qualls scored 15 points and freshman Anton Beard was 4 of 4 from three-point range and scored 14 points. Arkansas’ Ky Madden surpassed the 1,000-point mark and scored 10 points. M.J. Rhett and Stefan Moody had 16 points each for Ole Miss.
TURNING POINT Manny Watkins made the game-winning basket, a short floater from the left block on a pass from Ky Madden with 6.4 seconds left. Ole Miss’ Jarvis Summers then missed from 13 feet just before the final horn as the Rebels failed to score in the final 2:12.
KEY STATS Arkansas shot 47.5 percent from the field (28 of 59) and held Ole Miss to 25 of 66 shooting (37.9 percent). The Rebels outrebounded the Razorbacks 45-31.
UP NEXT Arkansas hosts Missouri at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"I saw the defense all collapse on Ky, and it was 8 seconds left or something, so I had to go in," Watkins said. "I just ran in there and he found me, like Ky normally does."
Arkansas (20-5, 9-3) took sole possession of second place in the SEC with its seventh victory in eight games. The Razorbacks split the regular-season series with Ole Miss, which fell into third place before a roaring crowd of 8,719.
"What a game," Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said. "To me, it had the makings of an NCAA tournament game: Competitive, two teams going after each other like heavyweights.
"They had the last possession to score and our defense was pretty good. ... It just seemed like our defense got four or five stops down the stretch."
Ole Miss (17-8, 8-4) was attempting to tie a school record with a seventh consecutive SEC victory, but the Rebels came up short in a game during which neither team led by more than five points in the second half.
"That was a high-level game," Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy said. "Two teams fighting for their lives. We made the shot Thursday night. We missed the shot tonight. I told our team I didn't think we lost the game, I think Arkansas won it."
Arkansas' Michael Qualls, who had a series of key defensive rebounds in the closing minutes to stem the Rebels' assault on the offensive boards, said the ball wound up in the right hands when Watkins cut to the baseline on the final possession.
"That was a big-time floater," Qualls said. "Like I told the team, I don't think anybody else could have made that shot because that's his specialty. It was huge for us."
Kennedy elected not to call a timeout for the final play. Senior guard Jarvis Summers dribbled up and missed a 13-footer. The Rebels grabbed their 21st offensive rebound, but time ran out before Dwight Coleby could turn and shoot.
The Razorbacks stormed the floor in celebration at the final buzzer as Watkins ran down the court with his arms out like wings.
"I probably kind of celebrated too much," Watkins said. "I was excited."
Watkins said the floater, the last of his eight points, was the first game-winner of his life.
"First one ever," he said. "Not even when I was in little league. That was my first one ever and it feels good."
Madden had six assists and with 10 points the senior surpassed the 1,000-point mark.
Anton Beard scored 14 points on 4 of 4 three-point shooting before fouling out with 2:12 remaining and Portis had 12 points for Arkansas.
Stefan Moody and M.J. Rhett scored 16 points each for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss, which shot 56.4 percent in its 96-82 victory at Arkansas on Jan. 17, made 25 of 66 shots (37.9 percent) on Saturday.
The Rebels, the nation's top free-throw shooting team, went 15 of 22 (68.2 percent) from the line, while Arkansas did not attempt a free throw in the first half and made 6 of 10 on the night.
Qualls' three-pointer gave Arkansas a 9-6 lead early and the Razorbacks led for much of the game, but Ole Miss fought back, bolstered by a 45-31 rebounding advantage. The Rebels led 66-61 on Rhett's jumper with 3:57 remaining.
"Our guys didn't panic," Anderson said. "They weren't fazed by that because we've been through that."
Qualls, who led Arkansas with 15 points, made a couple of driving shots in the lane after Portis' turnaround bank shot put Arkansas within 68-65.
Alandise Harris' two free throws made it 68-67 with 2:27 left, but Coleby's two free throws gave Ole Miss a 70-67 lead with 2:12 remaining.
Madden drove in the lane for a hanging jumper with 1:53 to get Arkansas back within a point and set up the final frantic possessions.
Portis missed a bank shot from the right block with 1:05 left, but Ole Miss' Martavious Newby came up short on a layup attempt that might have been tipped by Harris on the other end.
Anderson called timeout with 27.6 seconds remaining to set up the final play, with the first option being Madden trying to find Qualls in the post.
"I think the trust factor is starting to take place with this team," Anderson said. "It used to be where Ky was going to be the guy to take that shot or say a Bobby. But he trusted Manuale Watkins and Manuale came through for us."
Arkansas seemingly seized momentum with a series of three-pointers by Beard and Qualls early in the second half, but the Rebels forged ties at 43-43 and 46-46 with three-pointers by Newby and Anthony Perez.
Arkansas yielded the lead at the 8:32 mark of the second half when a driving bank shot by LaDarius White made it 58-57.
Arkansas regained the lead on two free throws from Madden, but it didn't last long as Terence Smith made a three-pointer from the right wing for a 61-59 Ole Miss lead at 8:00.
The Rebels outrebounded the Razorbacks 45-31, including a 21-9 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Ole Miss had won 10 of the past 12 meetings in the series.
Arkansas' ball movement, which has been much better in recent games, sparked a strong first half offensively. The Razorbacks shot 18 of 35 (51.4 percent), including 5 of 9 from Portis, to lead 40-36 at the break.
Madden and Beard contributed four and three assists, respectively, in the opening half as Arkansas assisted on 13 of its 18 field goals.
The Rebels made 12 of 35 (34.3 percent) in the first half, but they stayed in the game by drawing fouls on drives to the basket.
Ole Miss, the top free-throw shooting team in the country, made 11 of 14 free throws in the first half to offset their low shooting percentage from the floor.
The Razorbacks' largest lead came at the end of a 12-4 surge that made it 34-25. Qualls started the run with a three-pointer and Beard ended the it with a three-pointer.
Sports on 02/15/2015