A.J. Storr scored 19 points and Malik Dia added 17 as 15th-seeded Ole Miss held off Georgia 76-72 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville on Thursday. The Rebels survived a late surge to earn their second straight wire-to-wire upset.

Travis Perry contributed 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Ilias Kamardine added eight points, four assists, and four steals for Ole Miss (14-19). The Rebels built a commanding 55-32 lead with 13 minutes remaining but nearly saw it vanish, holding on despite Georgia’s late push.

Seventh-seeded Georgia rallied with a full-court press and a 22-2 run, narrowing the gap to 57-54 with 7:35 left. The Bulldogs got within two points on Kanon Catchings’ layup to make it 60-58, but they never took the lead. Catchings scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half for Georgia (22-10), who had won three straight games and five of six heading into the matchup.

Ole Miss, which had lost 12 of its last 13 regular-season games, also never trailed in a 76-66 win over Texas in the first round. The Rebels will face second-seeded and 15th-ranked Alabama in the quarterfinals.

The game’s closing moments were tense. Ole Miss led 70-63 with 59 seconds remaining before Georgia closed the gap. After Storr missed the front end of a one-and-one, Dylan James dunked to make it 73-71 with 5.3 seconds left. Kezza Giffa made one of two free throws to push the lead to 74-71 with 3.9 seconds remaining. Marcus Millender made one free throw after Ole Miss intentionally fouled, missing the second on purpose, and Perry sealed the win with two free throws at the buzzer.

Ole Miss held Georgia to 36.4% shooting overall and just 23.7% from beyond the arc (9 of 38). Jeremiah Wilkinson, Georgia’s leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, managed only eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. Georgia center Somto Cyril was ejected after committing a flagrant-2 foul for elbowing Perry in the head with 17:54 remaining. Perry’s free throw, followed by Dia’s 3-pointer, pushed the Rebels’ lead to 43-24.

-Field Level Media/Reuters