Dec 31, 2002

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. - Tyson Dorsey scored 15 points and Laurel, Mississippi native Eddie Harper scored 14 points but it was not enough for Samford to upset Mississippi as the Rebels held on to a hard fought 57-49 victory Tuesday afternoon at the Tad Smith Coliseum.

Ole Miss improved to 9-2 on the season and moved its home winning streak to 20 straight while Samford dropped its fifth straight and fell to 4-7 on the season. The Rebels have won 59 of the last 60 non-conference home games.

"I thought this was our best overall effort of the year against maybe our toughest opponent," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I was pleased with the way we shot the ball. Ole Miss usually holds opponents to 38 percent and to shot 47 percent was great. I thought our free throw shooting deserted us. Brian Boerjan had his best game of the year and Anthony LoPiano played well when he was in."

The first half was one of runs. Ole Miss began on a 7-1 run over the first four minutes. The Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at seven. Ole Miss forced two quick turnovers to start an 8-0 run but again Samford responded with a 12-1 run to take its first lead, 19-16, on a Harper three pointer with 6:35 remaining. The Rebels finished the half with a 13-5 run to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room. Boerjan led the Bulldogs with seven points at the break while Justin Reed led Ole Miss with 10 of his 15 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 5-0 run sparked by a Tyson Dorsey three pointer and a driving lay-up by J. Robert Merritt to tie the game at 29-29. The Rebels went back on top 35-31 before Harper hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 37-37 with 11:25 to play. The Rebels took their largest lead of the game with a 12-3 run to lead 49-40 at the 5:55 mark. Dorsey hit a three pointer to end a four and a half minute scoreless streak and began a 5-0 Bulldog run to bring the score to 49-45 with 3:38 remaining. It remained a four-point game with 25.4 seconds left and the Rebels up 53-49 when Trey Pearson made a pair of free throws to make the score 55-49. Dorsey missed a three pointer and Emmanuel Wade converted on two more free throws to give Ole Miss its final margin of victory.

"Samford did a great job and we never did put any distance between them. But we did maintain the lead," Mississippi coach Rod Barnes said. "I'm just thankful that we're 9-2 heading into the SEC. I am excited about that and I expect this team to get better."

Samford out shot Ole Miss 47 percent to 42 percent but poor free throw shooting and rebounding cost the Bulldogs the upset. Samford went just 7-14 from the line while Ole Miss converted on 17-27 (63 percent) from the stripe. Ole Miss out rebounded Samford 30-22 and 14-5 on the offensive glass. The Rebels' pressure forced 18 Samford turnovers. The Bulldogs were 8-19 (42 percent) from three point range while the Rebels were just 2-12.

Samford will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as it opens the Atlantic Sun schedule against Belmont at Seibert Hall. It will be the Bulldogs first home game since Nov. 27. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.