The third-seeded Rebels survived a huge scare from 14th-seeded Iona with a 72-70 first-round victory at Kemper Arena.

Emmanuel Wade (left) and David Sanders are happy to escape Iona's grasp Friday.(AP)

Iona's leading scorer Nakiea Miller fouled out on the play, ending the Gaels' hopes of winning their second-ever NCAA game. The last victory came in 1980 when Jim Valvano was coach.

Lockhart, an All-SEC forward, was limited to only 15 minutes because of foul trouble and a sore lower back. The 46 percent free-throw shooter made half his free throws Friday (2-of-4) to nudge the Rebels through the bracket.

His biggest play, though, might have been stripping Courtney Fields as the Iona swingman slashed through the lane in the final 10 seconds. Rebels guard Jason Harrison then made one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left for the final margin.

The key was making Iona point guard Earl Johnson (15 points, 4 steals, 3 assists) give up the ball to Fields. By then Miller and his 19 points and 10 rebounds were on the bench.

"We had decided we weren't going to let him win the game," Mississippi coach Rod Barnes said of Johnson. "He's a very good point guard, very talented. When he went to halfcourt, we knew we had to get it out of his hands. We weren't going to let him win it for them."

Iona had its last lead with 2:03 left when Johnson hit a jumper to make it 70-67. The Gaels would not score again. Backup guard Emmanuel Wade bombed in a 3 for a 70-70 tie with 1:53 left.

SEC freshman of the year Justin Reed then blocked his fourth shot to wreck another Iona possession with 1:42 left.

Mississippi's Jason Harrison, an 84 percent free-throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one with 32 seconds left, allowing Iona back in the game. Trailing 71-70, Iona coach Jeff Ruland called timeout with 26.4 seconds remaining.

His team never got off a shot as Fields was stripped. The Rebels won a game by six points or less for the sixth time in the past 10 games.

"When it's time to make plays, we make plays," Barnes said. "I say, 'where are you guys earlier? Why do you wait until the last five minutes?'"

Thrilling, though, was better than losing for the 14th-ranked Rebels.

Iona took advantage of Lockhart's absence to take a narrow 38-35 lead at halftime despite losing 6-9 freshman Greg Jenkins with a broken hand. Without Lockhart clogging up the middle, the Gaels were able to muscle inside. The play of the half, though, came when Leland Norris popped a three with 16.8 seconds left in the half, breaking a 35-35 tie.

"Look on the bright side," the 255-pound Lockhart said. "I didn't play much. I can't complain about my legs being tired."

Valvano used the job as a steppingstone to a national championship at North Carolina State. All Ruland can count on right now is a trip home as one of the few lower seeds that didn't pull off the upset.