Tigers snap skid with 2OT win at Ole Miss

Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

With nothing of substance on the line, the two bottom teams in the SEC standings fought for 50 minutes. There were 16 ties, nine lead changes and a pair of overtime periods.

Ultimately, Max Mackinnon and LSU made more plays in double overtime than Ole Miss, and the Tigers escaped Oxford with a 106-99 victory. The loss was Ole Miss’s tenth straight, and LSU’s win halted a five-game losing streak.

Mackinnon was sensational.

He kept LSU in the game in the first half as the Tiger defense failed time and time again to keep Ole Miss out of the lane. Before halftime, Mackinnon was 6-for-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point range for 18 points in 19 minutes.

In overtime, he took the game over. He was 4-for-7 from the floor and made all five of his free throws for 13 points without a turnover as the Tigers outscored the Rebels 24-17 in the two extra periods.

It almost didn’t get there. The Rebels had shots in the air to win in regulation and in the first overtime. Neither went down.

Rashad King made a pair of free throws with 15 ticks left in regulation to tie the score. Robert Miller came across the lane to block a Rebel shot with five seconds left, but Ole Miss got the rebound and called timeout. That allowed an inbounds and corner three from Patton Pinkins that rimmed out.

In the first overtime, it appeared LSU had gotten a stop in a tied game with 12 seconds left. Miller attempted to grab the rebound, but it was knocked free by Ole Miss and saved to a Rebel. Head coach Chris Beard again called timeout with seven seconds to play.

LSU’s defense was excellent on the ensuing inbounds and forced a tough, contested fading two by AJ Storr that missed short.

That Tiger defense was nowhere to be seen early.

Ole Miss shot 55 percent before halftime including 71 percent from two-point range. The Tigers could not keep Ole Miss in front of them in the half court or transition. Ole Miss got out for 12 fast break points to the Tigers’ five.

In an unexpected development, the three-point line actually kept LSU in the game. So often this year, it’s taken the Tigers right out. LSU shot 11-for-24 from three for 52 percent. Ole Miss only made 5-of-16 meaning the Tigers enjoyed an 18-point edge behind the arc.

To the Tigers’ credit, they did not lean on that in overtime. They attacked the rim, shooting only two threes, and capitalized at the free throw line to emerge with their third league win of the season.