OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Marshall Henderson scored 24 points, LaDarius White added 17 and Mississippi beat Alabama 87-83 on Tuesday night.
Ole Miss (22-8, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) won eight of nine home games in conference play. The Rebels never trailed after the opening minutes and held a double-digit advantage for almost the entire game until Alabama made a late charge.
Henderson bounced back after a terrible shooting performance on Saturday in a loss to Mississippi State. The 6-foot-2 guard made 6 of 13 shots from the field and 9 of 11 free throws. Jarvis Summers added 14 points for the Rebels.
Alabama (19-11, 11-6) had a huge 41-25 rebounding advantage but allowed Ole Miss to shoot 55.1 percent (27 of 49) from the field. Trevor Lacey led the Tide with 19 points while Nick Jacobs added 18.
Both teams came into the game with NCAA resumes that put them squarely on the bubble. They are also fighting for spots among the top four teams in the SEC, which would guarantee a first-round bye in the league tournament next week.
Ole Miss had lost six out of 10 coming into Tuesday's game - including a disastrous loss to last-place Mississippi State on Saturday - but played inspired basketball from the opening tip. Guard Nick Williams and forwards Reginald Buckner and Murphy Holloway were celebrating senior night and combined to score 21 points.
But it was the younger guys who provided the biggest plays. The Rebels pushed out to an early 24-10 lead on a 3-pointer by freshman Derrick Millinghaus and never relinquished control on the way to a 37-25 halftime advantage.
White, a sophomore, made 5 of 9 shots from the field and 6 of 6 free throws. He also added four rebounds, two assists and steals.
Alabama didn't make things interesting until the final minutes, when the Tide made six out of seven 3-pointers, capped by Lacey's with 8 seconds left to pull the Tide within 86-83. But Ole Miss made most of its free throws down the stretch and Alabama ran out of time.
The Tide made 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range. Alabama had 17 turnovers.
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