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Ole Miss vs. Kentucky basketball final score: Rebels lose 89-86 in overtime

The Rebs were oh-so-close to pulling off the biggest hoops upset in school history.

By Jeff Gray
Joe Robbins/Getty Images

What everyone expected to be a blowout in Rupp Arena ended up being a crazy competitive game. Martavious Newby's potential game-tying 3-pointer skipped tantalizingly across the rim as extra time expired and Ole Miss lost 89-86 to No. 1 Kentucky in overtime.

Ole Miss led by one with 26 seconds remaining in regulation, but Andrew Harrison was fouled and sent to the free throw line. He botched the first attempt, but made the second. Jarvis Summers chucked up a bad 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to OT.

It would have never even gone to overtime if it weren't for the Rebs being stripped of a point late in the second half. Just before the seven-minute mark, Snoop White drained a shot from the perimeter that was initially called a 3-pointer, though replays during the broadcast seemed to show his toe was on the line.

But here's the deal: refs didn't initially review the shot. It wasn't until four minutes of game time later they went back and changed it to a 2-pointer.

Stefan Moody was the star of the game for the Rebs, draining eight of his 13 shots for a team-high 25 points. He kept Ole Miss in the game during multiple Kentucky runs by draining five of his seven 3-pointers. That led to this amazing Andy Kennedy quote.

But cramps forced Moody out of the game twice down the stretch, once towards the end of regulation and again in overtime.

The second time he left was immediately after being fouled while shooting a three with the game tied. College rules dictate that if a free throw shooter is injured and can't take the shots, the opposing teams gets to pick the shooter. Kentucky chose M.J. Rhett (68 percent free throw shooter on the season) and he promptly missed two of the three shots. Kentucky outscored the Rebs 11-6 from that point on.

As disappointing as it is to come so close, it's really promising to see the Rebs play so well against what's being talked about as perhaps one of the best college basketball teams ever. They led at halftime and probably would have won if Moody doesn't cramp up down the stretch -- a statement John Calipari himself agrees with.