LSU 79, Mississippi 73

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Posted 7:53PM on Saturday, January 28, 2006

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) LSU needed Darrel Mitchell's best performance of the season to keep alive its hot start in the SEC. The only senior on the Tigers' roster had 18 of his season-high 28 points in the second half to lead LSU to its sixth straight win, a 79-73 victory over Mississippi on Saturday. ``The whole key to our outfit is Darrel Mitchell,'' coach John Brady said. ``I call him the `Silent Assassin,' because he never says a word and he'll really get you.'' Freshman Tasmin Mitchell had a career-high 20 points and Glen Davis added 19 for the Tigers (14-5, 6-0 SEC), who used some clutch free-throw shooting to withstand a late Rebels rally and remain the league's only team without a conference loss. LSU's young players surrounding the elder Mitchell in the starting lineup were three freshmen and a sophomore played with the poise of veterans, Brady said. ``The ability to step up and make free throws shows you a lot about our team,'' Brady said. ``We're a little young ourselves, but we're making plays with the youth that we have, which is quite encouraging.'' Ole Miss (13-6, 3-3) tied it at 71 on Todd Abernethy's 3-pointer with 2:12 to play, but Tasmin Mitchell countered with a 3-pointer 15 seconds later to put LSU ahead to stay. Davis then iced it when his three-point play with 44 seconds remaining made it 77-73. The Tigers made 13-of-15 free throws in the second half, were 9-of-9 from the line in the final 4:17 and finished with 24 points off 16 turnovers by Ole Miss a stat coach Rod Barnes blamed partly on carelessness. ``To be a championship team, you've got to have some urgency about every possession,'' Barnes said. ``There's got to be a certain amount of focus that you've got to have every time down the floor.'' Darrel Mitchell eclipsed his prior season-best of 26 points against West Virginia, but finished four points shy of his career high of 32 set last season against Ohio State. Brady credited the guard's big numbers to an offensive system which used enough screens and picks to give Mitchell time to shoot. ``The guy guarding Darrell gets hung up in all that confusion, so (Mitchell) is able to break free for a count, and he was playing so well tonight that you can't give him that kind of room,'' Brady said. Darrel Mitchell scored eight consecutive points for LSU after the Rebels had rallied to take a 61-59 lead with 5:32 to play on two free throws by Clarence Sanders. ``Darrel's been scoring in this league ever since he's been in this league,'' Barnes said. ``He's a quiet guy that many people don't think about, but he's making buckets, shooting 3s and hurting defenses for a long time.'' Bam Doyne had 11 of his 20 points in the first half for Ole Miss, which has lost three straight after starting 3-0 in SEC play. ``We won three in a row, we lost three in a row and we can very easily win three in a row again,'' Barnes said. ``What we can't do is take steps back. Even though we didn't win, we made a step forward today.'' Sanders added 15 points, and Abernethy and Londrick Nolen each finished with 10. Tasmin Mitchell, who scored 11 in the first half, surpassed his previous best of 19 set earlier this month against Arkansas. Ole Miss twice led by 10 in the first half, the last time coming with 10:41 left when Nolen's steal and dunk made it 21-11. LSU switched to a zone defense and responded with a 24-5 run keyed by its Mitchells. Darrel Mitchell had eight points and Tasmin Mitchell added seven during the spurt, which gave the Tigers a 35-26 lead with 3:27 remaining. ``We were playing man and couldn't really stop them,'' Brady said. Ole Miss got no closer than two the rest of the half, and LSU led 37-33 at halftime. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)