Mississippi 76, Georgia 62

3/8/2008 9:24 PM

By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -Mississippi took control with a 10-0 second-half run and moved closer to its first NCAA tournament bid since 2002 by beating Georgia 76-62 on Saturday for its first road conference victory of the season.

Ole Miss (21-9 overall, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) was 0-7 in road conference games before beating the Bulldogs.

Georgia (13-16, 4-12) finished sixth in the SEC East. Each team will play in Thursday night's opening round of the SEC tournament in Atlanta.

Chris Warren and Dwayne Curtis each scored 15 points to lead five Ole Miss scorers in double figures. Kenny Williams added 14 despite sitting out most of the second half with four fouls. Jeremy Parnell, who played behind Williams, added 13 points, including 11 in the second half and David Huertas had 10.

Terrance Woodbury led Georgia with 18 points. Billy Humphrey had 14 and senior Sundiata Gaines added 13 despite making only 5 of 21 shots in his final home game.

Georgia made 5 of 15 3-pointers to remain close in the first half, but Warren had two 3s late in the half for Ole Miss, which led 35-32 at the break.

Georgia took a 48-41 lead with a 16-6 run to open the second half.

Williams scored back-to-back baskets for Ole Miss before picking up two fouls in a span of 20 seconds, forcing the senior out of the game with four fouls with 13:39 left to play.

The loss of Williams only seemed to inspire the Rebels, who made six straight free throws to start a 10-0 run for a 51-48 lead. The Rebels kept the lead the rest of the game.

Even with Williams watching from the bench, Ole Miss continued to control the inside game.

Georgia sophomore center Albert Jackson, coming off his career-best 16 points in a win at Auburn on Wednesday, had only two points as the Bulldogs leaned on their outside shooters. Woodbury and Humphrey each made four 3-pointers.

An inside basket by Curtis gave Ole Miss a 65-54 lead with 3:50 left.