This time, a late shot didn’t fall for Texas basketball in another SEC thriller.
The Longhorns (14-7, 3-5 SEC) came close to a third straight win over a ranked team at No. 23 Ole Miss on Wednesday, but the Rebels (16-5, 5-3) survived another big performance from Tre Johnson for a 72-69 win. The game came four days after guard Tramon Mark beat Texas A&M with a late layup.
Ole Miss had dropped three consecutive games but picked up the needed win under second-year coach Chris Beard, who coached against the Longhorns for the first time since he was fired from Texas two years ago after being arrested on a domestic violence charge.
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The desperate Rebels nabbed the victory despite another scoring outburst from Johnson, the Texas freshman who leads the SEC in scoring. The 6-foot-6 guard racked up 22 points and made all eight of his free throws, but he missed an open 3-pointer from the corner that would have sent the game into overtime.
Arthur Kaluma, who missed the game against Texas A&M with a sore knee, returned to the lineup with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Forward Kadin Shedrick chipped in nine points and six rebounds, and sophomore wing Devon Pryor continued to impress with six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes while effectively replacing Jayson Kent in the rotation
Guard Sean Pedulla paced Ole Miss with a season-high 19 points.
After opening SEC play with eight straight games against ranked teams, Texas will play back-to-back games against teams with just one SEC win in LSU and Arkansas. The Longhorns visit LSU Saturday before hosting Arkansas Feb. 5.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball score vs Ole Miss: UT falls short on the road
