No. 1 Kentucky works OT to edge Ole Miss

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky coach John Calipari is sure of one thing after his top-ranked Wildcats opened Southeastern Conference play with a battle against Ole Miss: They want to win. And badly.

Kentucky found a way to keep its undefeated mark intact thanks to a hard-fought 89-86 overtime win over Mississippi on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Ole Miss played its best game of the season, shooting 49.2 percent from floor and posting a season-high point total against the nation’s best defensive team. All of those stats and more had the crowd of 24,275 at Rupp Arena angry and nervous all at the same time.

The Rebels led 38-36 at the half and had a chance to break a 77-77 tie in the final seconds of regulation on a 3-point attempt by guard Jarvis Summers. His shot was long, giving the Wildcats new life.

Calipari then relied on guard Aaron Harrison, who scored a game-high 26 points, and his big front line, led by forward Willie Cauley-Stein, to win the game in overtime.

Harrison scored six points the extra five minutes, while Cauley-Stein grabbed five rebounds, had a block and scored on a layup. Guard Andrew Harrison hit a big 3-pointer with 2:08 left in overtime, giving the Wildcats a lead they never relinquished.

“I know I’ve got a team with a will to win,” Calipari said. “They fought. They had every chance to let go of the rope and feel bad for themselves, and they didn’t. They all made plays, and that’s a good sign. But we didn’t fight for an entire game. We didn’t battle.”

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was upbeat following the loss regarding the way his team fought. Outside of the first 2 1/2 minutes of the game, when the Rebels fell behind 12-0, Kennedy was pleased with the effort, not happy about the end result.

“If it had been a three-minute game, we would have been in big trouble, but it’s not, and I just told my guys to continue to battle,” Kennedy said. “Our goal coming in here … we didn’t, not one time, did we talk about beating the No. 1 team in the country. I just wanted them to compete for 40 minutes and certainly thought that we did that. We gave ourselves a chance.”

Kentucky (14-0, 1-0 SEC) ended up with seven second-chance points in overtime, and six points in the paint compared to just two for the Rebels.

Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1) still had a chance to force a second overtime, but guard Martavious Newby missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. In the end, nothing fell for the Rebels when they needed them to.

The Rebels were the first team to provide a true test to the Wildcats, who defeated ranked teams Louisville, North Carolina, Texas and Kansas this season. There were eight lead changes and 13 ties in Tuesday’s game.

Ole Miss held the Wildcats to 41.7 percent shooting, but they gave Kentucky too many chances at the foul line. Kentucky attempted a whopping 40 free throws, making 28. Aaron Harrison finished 9-for-10. Ole Miss was 19-for-22 from the line, with Summers making 10 of 11 shots.

Summers fought through back spasms to score 23 points and hand out a team-high four assists.

Stefan Moody was the high scorer for the Rebels, finishing with 25 points. Calipari praised the guard’s play, admitting he made a mistake on the way his team defended Moody until his assistant coaches called him off. Kentucky then went to what worked well against former Ole Miss shooter Marshall Henderson in the past.

“I’m the one that switched Tyler (Ulis) on him, and my staff said he does well against littlier guys because he jumps over them, and what does he do? Basket, basket, foul,” Calipari said. “I looked at my staff and said, ‘That’s my fault, not (Ulis’).’ Usually Tyler against a smaller guy, that’s big advantage for him. Not in this game.”

NOTES: Before Tuesday, the highest point total posted by a Kentucky opponent was 70 by North Carolina. … The Rebels won the only other time they faced a ranked team this season, beating then-No. 23 Creighton 75-68 on Nov. 28 as part of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. … Ole Miss plays host to South