Mississippi edges Florida with two clutch free throws

OXFORD, Miss. – Jarvis Summers scored 16 points, including two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, to push Mississippi past Florida 72-71 on Saturday night.

The Rebels (12-7, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed for much of the night, but rallied from a 69-65 deficit in the final two minutes. Summers was the hero during that stretch, also hitting an 18-footer with 27.9 seconds remaining to give Ole Miss a 70-69 lead.

Florida retook the lead when Michael Frazier made two free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining. That set up the Rebels’ final possession and Summers was fouled while driving to the basket. He calmly hit his free throws and Florida’s Kasey Hill missed a layup as time expired.

Florida (10-9, 3-3) lost despite shooting a blistering 12 of 20 (60 percent) from 3-point range. Frazier scored a season-high 27 points and made 6 of 8 attempts from 3-point range.

The Gators have lost three straight.

Dorian Finney-Smith added 15 points for Florida.

Ole Miss had four players score in double digits. LaDarius White added 13 points while Terence Smith had 11.

It was a game that both teams badly needed to win after recent poor play. Ole Miss had lost two of three, including Wednesday’s setback to Georgia, while Florida had dropped two straight and was coming off its worst home loss since 2010.

Florida’s outside shooting carried it to a 36-30 halftime lead. The Gators made 7 of 10 from 3-point range in the first half, including a 4-of-4 performance by Finney-Smith.

Ole Miss managed to stay close despite the Gators’ hot streak. After falling behind 20-9 the Rebels responded with 12 straight points to briefly take the lead. White led Ole Miss with nine first-half points.

Once the Gators finally cooled off in the second half, the Rebels were able to make a move. Terence Smith made a 3-pointer with 12:40 remaining to push Ole Miss ahead 47-46.

That was followed by quick 3-pointers by Anthony Perez and Smith and the Rebels had a 53-46 lead. But the Gators didn’t go away quietly, and Kasey Hill failed to make a contested layup as time expired.