Sat Feb 2 21:03:53 2008

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South Carolina edges Ole Miss on Archie's late three

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Oxford, MS (Sports Network) - Dominique Archie scored 20 points, and made a three-pointer with six seconds left to propel South Carolina to an 80-77 win over 24th-ranked Ole Miss.

Devan Downey had a team-high 25 points for South Carolina (11-10, 3-4 SEC), which has won two in a row. The Gamecocks shot 52.7 percent from the field, helping them earn their first ever win in Oxford. South Carolina had been 0-8 at Tad Smith Coliseum.

Dwayne Curtis finished with 25 points for Ole Miss (16-4, 3-4), which was dealt its first home loss of the season. Zach Graham and Chris Warren each had 14 points, while David Huertas scored 13.

With 1:28 remaining, Huertas drained a three to give the Rebels a 77-75 lead, which looked like it might last, after Downey and Zam Fredrick missed back-to- back shots for South Carolina.

But after Eniel Polynice's jumper was off the mark for Ole Miss, the Gamecocks grabbed the rebound with less than half a minute left. Archie looked for the ball at the top of the arc, got a clean look, and canned the three-pointer to put South Carolina ahead 78-77.

Ole Miss still had one last look, but a Rebel stepped out of bounds with the ball with 1.1 left, ruining the chance.

South Carolina took the first substantial lead in the opening half, after Brandis Raley-Ross hit a three, and Downey hit a jumper. The consecutive shots put the Gamecocks ahead 27-19.

Ole Miss, though, rallied to tie the game on three consecutive field goals, two by Graham. The game remained tight until Raley-Ross and Downey again made back-to-back shots at the end of the half, giving the Gamecocks a 39-34 lead at the break.

South Carolina held that margin in the second half, and it grew no greater than eight points until nearly midway through. Evaldas Baniulis made a three- pointer with 11:54 left for a 64-59 Gamecocks lead.

But South Carolina didn't make another field goal for almost four minutes, and an 8-0 Ole Miss run ended with a Curtis layup, giving the Rebels a 67-64 edge. From that point, the game stayed close down to the buzzer.

Game Notes

Ole Miss shot 47.7 percent from the field...The Rebels have lost three of their last four.