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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Darrel Mitchell had 11 of his 16 points in the first half and LSU kept its SEC West title hopes alive with a 58-53 victory over Mississippi on Wednesday night.
LSU used strong defense and some touch from the free throw line to keep pace with Alabama in the division chase.
Ole Miss closed to 49-48 with 4:29 remaining, but LSU held the Rebels to just two baskets the rest of the way and made 14 of 19 foul shots in the second half.
It kept the Tigers (18-8, 11-4) in the hunt for the division title and the No. 2 seed in next week's SEC tournament. LSU and No. 21 Alabama are tied for first place in the West heading into their weekend finales.
Remarkably, LSU did it with their two frontcourt threats _ Brandon Bass and Glen Davis _ held somewhat in check.
Bass had nine of his 13 points from the free throw line _ he was just 2-of-12 from the field _ and added 10 rebounds, and Davis played through foul trouble and finished 1-of-6 with eight points.
LSU won for just the fourth time in 10 tries on the road this season.
Marvin Moore had 15 points and Todd Abernethy finished with 12 for the Rebels. Tommie Eddie, Ole Miss' leading scorer, was held to six points _ nearly half his average.
Ole Miss (13-15, 4-11) has lost nine games by 10 or fewer points this season.
The Rebels are locked into fifth place in the division and after Sunday's regular-season finale at South Carolina, Ole Miss will play the opening game of the SEC tournament against the fourth-place team in the East.
The loss makes the Rebels an even longer shot for an NIT berth; Ole Miss must beat the Gamecocks and win at least twice in the league tournament to gain eligibility.
