Mississippi 53, South Carolina 52

Posted 6:29PM on Thursday 10th March 2005 ( 20 years ago )

ATLANTA (AP) Both teams were thinking overtime, but Mississippi's Cavadas Nunnery knew better. He spotted a foot on the 3-point line, leading to an overturned call that allowed the Rebels to hang on for a 53-52 victory over South Carolina in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday. Tre Kelley banked in what appeared to be a tying 3 with 1.7 seconds remaining, and South Carolina even stole the inbounds pass and managed to call a quick timeout. As both teams headed to their benches, Nunnery went to coach Rod Barnes. ``He told me, 'Coach, his foot was on the line. I'm sure of it.''' Barnes said. At Barnes' request, the officials went to the scoring table to review a replay of Kelley's shot. After studying the play from several angles, they ruled that the tip of Kelley's right shoe was touching the arc, making it a 2-point basket. ``You know it's never good when the officials all converge on that monitor,'' South Carolina coach Dave Odom said. He was right. One of the officials came over to give Odom the bad news. ``He said, ``This is a hard one, but we've looked at it six times, and there's no doubt that his foot was on the line,''' Odom said. The Gamecocks still had the ball, but Brandon Wallace's shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim to preserve the Ole Miss victory. Tommie Eddie scored 17 points to lead the Rebels (14-16), who advanced to meet No. 20 Alabama, co-champion of the SEC West, in Friday's quarterfinals. The victory came one day after Barnes got a four-year contract extension that will keep him at Ole Miss through 2009. ``This is a new beginning for us,'' he said. ``This is the team that put the heart back in our program.'' Todd Abernethy hit two free throws with 7.6 seconds left, giving the Rebels a 53-50 lead. Kelley hustled down the court and squared up a desperation shot over Abernethy's outstretched arm. The ball hit high on the backboard and banked through the hoop with 1.7 seconds to go, apparently tying the game. But it didn't stand. ``I couldn't tell, but I thought it was a three,'' Kelley said. ``I was thinking overtime.'' Except for Nunnery, the Rebels were in a similar state of mind. ``My heart just sunk,'' Abernethy said. ``But then, going back in the huddle, we looked back and saw they were looking at the replay.'' Now, South Carolina (15-13) can only hope for a spot in the National Invitation Tournament. ``I'm really emotional right now,'' said senior Carlos Powell, who led the Gamecocks with 21 points. ``I thought they called it three points. I thought he made it.'' Eddie gave the Rebels a strong presence on the inside, hitting 8-of-12 shots. Ed Glass added 15 points, including a basket with just under five minutes remaining that pushed Ole Miss to a 49-41 lead, its biggest of the game. South Carolina rallied behind Powell, who converted a three-point play with 2.5 minutes left to pull the Gamecocks to 51-48. Tarence Kinsey added a couple of free throws to make it 51-50. But South Carolina never came all the way back. Powell missed a 3-pointer, and Kelley spun into the lane to get off a shot that lingered on the front of the rim before dropping off. Then, with 35 seconds left, Eddie bobbled a pass in the lane and South Carolina grabbed the loose ball, getting another chance for the go-ahead basket. But Kinsey couldn't hit a 3-pointer, and Brandon Wallace's attempted putback rolled across the back of the rim. Abernethy grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit the two free throws that turned out to be the difference. The Gamecocks missed plenty of shots, connecting on just 37 percent (19 of 51) from the field. Powell was 9 of 17, but the other starters combined to make just 6 of 21. ``They were pounding inside more,'' Powell said. ``Basically, they were more aggressive.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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