With less than three minutes remaining and Ole Miss basketball down by 11 on Saturday night, a scenario coach Chris Beard prepares his team for in the offseason arrived.
When down big and late, just give yourself a chance.
The Rebels beat LSU 72-70 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, closing the game on a 13-0 run in the final 2:52 as they engineered an unlikely comeback. They used every moment in that span, as senior guard Dre Davis, who led all scorers with 22 points, tipped in the game-winning shot with 0.1 seconds remaining.
“We call that playing to the bone, in our program,” Beard said. “We tell guys at the start of the season that they will have to win a couple courageous, late-game comebacks to have the kind of season you want to have. When you’re in that position you just want to give yourself a chance.”
Ole Miss (18-6, 7-4 SEC) made six free throws, one layup and a 3-pointer to tie the game before Davis’ winner. In that same stretch, Ole Miss held LSU (12-11, 1-9) scoreless.
Davis’ basket earned Ole Miss its only lead in the second half.
“I thought our guys had a lot of poise,” Beard said. “I thought we used our timeouts well and just kind of stayed on the same page.”
The Rebels were on the other end of a last-second comeback at home on Jan. 22, losing to Texas A&M in which they led the Aggies by eight with 3:49 left and lost 63-62.
Davis cited experiences like those — close games with big swings in crunch time — as what prepared the Rebels to put together a near-perfect final three minutes.
“I feel like we’ve been in positions like this a lot throughout the year,” he said. “I think it just shows our character, being able to learn from those past experiences.”
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball completes huge comeback on Dre Davis tip-in vs LSU
