OXFORD, Miss. – Eleven second-half turnovers proved too costly to overcome as the 11th-ranked Tennessee basketball team fell on the road to Ole Miss, 52-50, on Tuesday at The Pavilion.
The Vols (12-4, 5-4 SEC) were solid defensively and shot 44 percent from behind the 3-point arc, but a lopsided second-half run from Ole Miss (9-8, 4-6 SEC) helped the Rebels snap UT’s five-game win streak in the series.
The Vols were led in scoring for the fourth consecutive game by senior Yves Pons, who scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting while knocking down two of his three attempts from 3-point range. Pons also pulled down four rebounds, recorded one steal and drew a pair of charges.
Freshman Keon Johnson scored 11 points and reeled in four rebounds on the night while hitting multiple late free throws when the Vols were struggling to convert field goals.
Off the bench, sophomore Josiah-Jordan James totaled 10 points, dropping in a trio of first-half 3-pointers, grabbing six rebounds and adding one block and a steal.
Tennessee controlled the early portions of the contest, jumping out to a 23-15 lead over the opening 12 minutes, with nine of those points coming on three 3-pointers from James.
Ole Miss held the Vols to just five points in the final eight minutes of the half, as UT held a slim, 28-23 edge heading into the halftime break.
UT opened the second half on a 10-4 run, extending its lead to 38-27 with just more than 15 minutes remaining.
Ole Miss responded with a 19-4 go-ahead run spanning more than nine minutes of game action and held a 46-42 lead at the under-four-minute media timeout.
The Vols knotted the score at 46 apiece before the Rebels delivered multiple baskets with less than two minutes to play to take a 51-46 advantage.
In the closing seconds, UT cut the Ole Miss lead to two points before James had a look at a buzzer-beating three that fell just short, cementing the night’s final score.
Up Next: Tennessee remains on the road for a Saturday night bout with border rival Kentucky. The opening tip from Rupp Arena is slated for 8:05 p.m. ET on ESPN.
-UT Athletics
