MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - Anthony Rice and Billy Richmond scored 14 points each Thursday night as Memphis overcame a poor percent shooting performance to defeat Mississippi 58-51. <br>
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The Tigers (5-2), who had lost three straight in the series, held the Rebels to only two field goals in the final eight minutes. <br>
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The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Rebels (5-2). <br>
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Rodney Carney finished with 13 for Memphis. <br>
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Derrick Allen and Emmanuel Wade led Mississippi with 13 points each, while Aaron Harper added 10 points and seven rebounds. <br>
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Wade's second-half scoring kept the Rebels close. At one point, the reserve guard scored 10 straight points. <br>
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But after his layup with eight minutes left cut the Tiger lead to 48-44, Mississippi scored only one basket until 26 seconds remained. <br>
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The Tigers managed 6-of-10 free throws in the final three minutes to hold off any last-minute runs by the Rebels. <br>
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Mississippi shot only slightly better than the Tigers' 37 percent shooting, connecting on 38 percent from the field. <br>
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Memphis led 30-24 at the half behind Richmond's nine points and eight from Carney, who hit all four of his field goal attempts before the break. <br>
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Harper had seven for the Rebels in the first half. <br>
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Neither team could gain much of a lead through the first 15 minutes. Mississippi had a 4-point lead midway through the period, but the game was tied six times. <br>
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Memphis put together six straight points with about four minutes remaining in the half. <br>
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Memphis built its lead to nine early in the second half, and eventually would lead 44-33 after a Rice 3-pointer and a Richmond drive with just under 12 minutes to play. <br>
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But Wade put together his own run with 10 straight Mississippi points during a three-minute stretch midway through the half to cut the lead to 48-44.
