Moody’s Last-Second Three Lifts Ole Miss Past Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCBI/AP) – After calling a timeout trailing 61-59 with the ball and just 17 seconds left to play, Ole Miss had one chance to win the game.

And with 2.7 seconds remaining Stefan Moody launched a game-winning three-point shot from the nose of the alligator masthead at half court to give Ole Miss a stunning 62-61 win over Florida on Thursday.

”It felt good,” Moody said. ”I obviously didn’t really feel it until it went in.”

Moody finished with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting – including a 4-for-7 mark from three-point range – while LaDarius White scored 16 points off the bench for the Rebels (17-7, 8-3 Southeastern Conference).

After eight score changes and two ties through the first 12 minutes, Florida (12-12, 5-6) finished the first half with a 38-33 advantage after outscoring Ole Miss 16-12 in the final 7:22.

Florida dominated on the offensive glass in the first half, edging out Ole Miss 8-2 in offensive rebounds and forced the Rebels into seven turnovers.

”Their second-shot opportunities were really hurting us,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said.

But Florida’s lead was never safe.

Between a combination of second-half scoring droughts and poorly timed turnovers, the Gators never led by more than five points throughout the second half and never by more than seven in the game.

”Everyone was waiting on somebody to make a play instead of trying to make the play collectively as a group,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Florida held the lead down the stretch, but Ole Miss cut its deficit to two points with 2:23 left before Moody hit the game winner. MJ Rhett stole a pass from Jacob Kurtz intended for Dorian Finney-Smith to seal the game.

”That was really the difference in the game,” Donovan said.

The Gators missed its final three shots.

Devin Robinson and Finney-Smith each scored 14 points for Florida, and four other UF players scored at least seven points in the loss.

Robinson, who started in place of Michael Frazier II (high-ankle sprain), also recorded a career-high seven rebounds in addition to recording three assists, two blocks and a steal.

”I thought we needed a little more size,” Donovan said about starting Robinson. ”I wanted to give Devin a chance to play a little bit more. . I thought it was his most complete game.”