Feb. 27, 2013

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OXFORD, MISS. (AP) - Senior Murphy Holloway posted 16 points and nine rebound and sophomore Jarvis Summers added 15 points and four assists as Ole Miss pulled away from Texas A&M 82-73 on Wednesday.

"The bottom line is we had enough offense," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "I thought we had a contribution from a number of guys. Marshall finally knocked down some shots in the second half and that allowed us to get the separation we needed."

Ole Miss (21-7, 10-5 Southeastern Conference) earned another crucial win as it tries to solidify a case for the NCAA tournament. The Rebels are trying to break the SEC's longest streak without an NCAA bid.

Holloway added nine rebounds and four assists and made 7 of 8 shots from the field. The Rebels have three regular-season games remaining.

"I'm just trying to grind and get these wins," Holloway said.

Marshall Henderson hit five of his six 3-pointers in the second half to help the Rebels pull away after leading 37-31 at halftime. Jarvis Summers scored 15 points and Buckner added 12 points and three blocked shots.

Elston Turner led Texas A&M (16-12, 6-9) with 25 points. Turner had another good game against Ole Miss, hitting 10 of 17 shots from the field just two weeks after scoring 37 against the Rebels in a win at College Station. The son of former Ole Miss star Elston Turner Sr., the 6-foot-5 senior had 12 points in the first half alone to keep the game close.

"I call him Kobe (Bryant) 'cause he can make those shots," Holloway said. "But it's all love when we win."

Texas A&M jumped out to an early 12-5 lead after a 3-pointer by Turner with 15:33 remaining, but Ole Miss fought back to eventually take a 37-31 halftime lead.

The Rebels got some good minutes early from their young and inexperienced bench. Anthony Perez had five points and Martavious Newby added three more in the first half, but Perez was hurt while going for a rebound in the second half and didn't return.

Kennedy said he didn't expect Perez's injury to be season ending, but didn't know how much time the lanky 6-foot-9 forward would miss.

Ole Miss slowly pulled away in the second half. Henderson and Summers hit back-to-back 3-pointers and then Nick Williams made a putback after a free throw to give the Rebels a 53-42 lead with 12:41 left.

Ole Miss led by as many as 18 in the second half. Texas A&M pulled within 76-67 with 1:44 left, but ran out of time to make a serious run.

Henderson didn't have a great shooting night, making just 6 of 19 shots from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range. But his good shots came during a crucial run that turned a tight game into a fairly easily win.

"Marshall got going and that was a big difference in the game," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. "Our inability to handle the ball against the zone and make shots -- you've got to give Ole Miss a lot of credit. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now."

Ole Miss shot 29 of 57 (50.9 percent) from the field. Texas A&M shot 30 of 56 (53.6 percent) from the field, but had 16 turnovers.

Fabyon Harris scored 17 points off the bench for the Aggies. Kourtney Roberson added 12 points and 10 rebounds.