Shuler leads Mississippi rally in 52-50 win over No. 11 Vols
AP
Feb 02, 2021
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) Devontae Shuler and Mississippi put the clamps on No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers's offense in a game characteristic of the Southeastern Conference's two stingiest teams.
Shuler scored 15 points and fueled a second-half rally as the Rebels beat the Volunteers 52-50 on Tuesday night, their first win over a ranked team in more than two years.
Tennessee went 12:27 without a field goal in the second half.
''Down the stretch, we made some game-winning plays,'' Ole Miss Rebels coach Kermit Davis said. ''It was just a whole group effort, and I'm just so happy to see this team taste that victory.
''That team right there is so well-coached and they're used to winning those types of games.''
Ole Miss (9-8, 4-6 SEC) rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and then withstood a late challenge by the Volunteers (12-4, 8-4) to stop a two-game skid.
The Vols came in allowing 59.4 points per game and the Rebels 63.
Trailing by five points in the final minute, Tennessee cut it to 51-49 on Keon Johnson's 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to break its long drought. Shuler worked the clock down but missed on a drive, and Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled.
He missed the first free throw with 3.5 seconds left but made the second to make it 51-50. The Vols quickly fouled Robert Allen, who made 1 of 2 foul shots.
Josiah-Jordan James's 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
''Coach was on us hard the last couple of games, and I feel like we just took that and came out with one of our better defensive games for 40 minutes,'' said the Rebels' Romello White, who had 14 points. ''It translated to offense, too. We had a great game tonight.''
The Vols were coming off an 80-61 victory over No. 23 Kansas, but couldn't manage a similar offensive performance.
''We were not tough enough to finish it,'' said Yves Pons, who led the Vols with 13 points.
Added James: ''It shows that we're still a pretty immature team, not being able to come in locked in and get the job done.''
Johnson scored 11 points for Tennessee. James finished with 10 but didn't have a field goal after making three 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes.
Vols coach Rick Barnes found plenty of fault in his team's performance, including some turnovers that he blamed on laziness.
''We did not protect the ball the way we needed to,'' Barnes said. ''I mean, we had some just horrendous turnovers. And when you add to that we missed some shots I like to think we could make around the rim.
''And you add that missing the front ends of some 1-and-1s in free throws, it makes for a long night.''
Shuler scored seven straight points to cap an 11-0 run that gave Ole Miss a 46-42 lead with 4:37 remaining. He scored on a steal and a fast-break layup, giving Mississippi its first lead since the opening minutes, and followed up a missed shot by burying a 3-pointer.
The Volunteers missed 11 straight shots down the stretch but managed to tie the game by hitting 4 of 6 free throws. Johnson made a pair with 2:54 remaining.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Vols couldn't carry over the momentum from a big win over Kansas and had a five-game win streak in the series stopped. Consistency is still an issue for Barnes' team.
Mississippi: Forced 11 turnovers in the second half and 16 overall to get a much-needed win.
UP NEXT
Tennessee visits Kentucky Saturday night for the first of two meetings this month.
Mississippi goes for the season sweep over Auburn, visiting the Tigers on Saturday.
---
More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
1st Half
TENN
Volunteers
28
MISS
Rebels
23
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
John Fulkerson vs. Romello White (Rebels gains possession)
19:42
Robert Allen turnover (traveling)
19:36
Jaden Springer misses two point layup
19:34
Luis Rodriguez defensive rebound
19:16
Luis Rodriguez turnover (bad pass) (John Fulkerson steals)
19:09
+2
Jaden Springer makes two point layup
2-0
19:00
+2
Romello White makes two point layup (Robert Allen assists)
2-2
19:00
Jaden Springer shooting foul (Romello White draws the foul)
19:00
Romello White misses regular free throw 1 of 1
19:00
John Fulkerson defensive rebound
18:45
+2
Yves Pons makes two point jump shot (Jaden Springer assists)
4-2
18:12
Luis Rodriguez misses two point jump shot
18:10
Keon Johnson defensive rebound
17:54
Luis Rodriguez personal foul
17:34
Jaden Springer misses two point jump shot
17:32
Devontae Shuler defensive rebound
17:19
+3
Luis Rodriguez makes three point jump shot (Romello White assists)
4-5
16:54
+3
Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Keon Johnson assists)
7-5
16:32
Luis Rodriguez misses two point jump shot
16:30
Keon Johnson defensive rebound
16:21
+2
Keon Johnson makes two point jump shot
9-5
15:49
Devontae Shuler misses three point jump shot
15:47
Volunteers defensive rebound
15:47
TV timeout
15:35
+2
John Fulkerson makes two point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)
11-5
15:03
Robert Allen misses two point jump shot
15:01
Rebels offensive rebound
14:57
Jarkel Joiner misses two point jump shot
14:55
Josiah-Jordan James defensive rebound
14:26
Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
14:24
Jarkel Joiner defensive rebound
14:21
Victor Bailey Jr. shooting foul (Jarkel Joiner draws the foul)
14:21
+1
Jarkel Joiner makes regular free throw 1 of 2
11-6
14:21
Jarkel Joiner misses regular free throw 2 of 2
14:21
Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
14:00
Josiah-Jordan James misses three point jump shot
13:58
Devontae Shuler defensive rebound
13:41
Olivier Nkamhoua blocks Jarkel Joiner's two point layup
13:39
Khadim Sy offensive rebound
13:27
+2
Khadim Sy makes two point jump shot
11-8
13:13
+3
Josiah-Jordan James makes three point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)
14-8
12:57
+2
Devontae Shuler makes two point jump shot
14-10
12:38
+3
Yves Pons makes three point jump shot (Victor Bailey Jr. assists)
17-10
12:04
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
12:02
Volunteers defensive rebound
12:02
Khadim Sy personal foul
11:51
Victor Bailey Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Luis Rodriguez steals)
11:45
+2
Luis Rodriguez makes two point dunk
17-12
11:19
Josiah-Jordan James misses two point layup
11:17
Volunteers offensive rebound
11:17
TV timeout
11:01
+3
Josiah-Jordan James makes three point jump shot (Jaden Springer assists)
20-12
10:59
Rebels 30 second timeout
10:36
+3
Matthew Murrell makes three point jump shot (Luis Rodriguez assists)
20-15
10:18
+3
Josiah-Jordan James makes three point jump shot (Jaden Springer assists)
23-15
9:47
Khadim Sy misses two point layup
9:45
John Fulkerson defensive rebound
9:29
Khadim Sy blocks Olivier Nkamhoua's two point layup
9:27
Devontae Shuler defensive rebound
9:13
Matthew Murrell turnover (traveling)
8:43
Jarkel Joiner blocks Jaden Springer's two point jump shot
8:41
Jaden Springer offensive rebound
8:19
Volunteers turnover (shot clock violation)
8:19
Matthew Murrell misses three point jump shot
8:17
Yves Pons defensive rebound
7:58
Santiago Vescovi offensive foul (Robert Allen draws the foul)