Vols edge past Rebels by two

By By Joey Vaughan / staff writer
Jan. 12, 2003
OXFORD Stanley Asumnu scored a putback layup with 2.6 seconds left to give Tennessee a 66-64 win over Ole Miss, sending 8,517 Rebel fans home unhappy Saturday.
Asumnu's basket brought to an end a back-and-forth second half in which there were 10 ties and eight lead changes.
Ole Miss had the ball with one minute left and the score tied at 64, but the Rebels were unable to get off a shot before the shot clock expired, and Tennessee scored the winning basket on its last possession.
It was Ole Miss' first home loss in 20 games.
The Volunteers pulled out the win with leading scorer Ron Slay on the bench with five fouls. The Rebels led 62-57 with 2:11 left in the game, but a C.J. Watson 3-pointer and a layup tied the score with 1:38 left. Sanders made a pair of free throws to put Ole Miss up 64-62, but Jon Higgins made a layup with a minute left to tie it.
Ole Miss turned the ball over 21 times in the game.
Tennessee improved to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, recovering from a three-point home loss to Kentucky.
Rebel guard Aaron Harper led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Justin Reed finished with 14 points despite attempting on ly four field goals. Ten of his points came from the free throw line.
Slay, who finished with 17 points, had 10 in the first half as Tennessee overcame an early Ole Miss run to take a 30-29 halftime lead. Higgins scored 14.
Ole Miss now faces a road game at LSU next Saturday.