OXFORD, Miss. – Chris Warren scored 24 points and handed out nine assists as Mississippi defeated Arkansas 84-74 Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Zach Graham added 15 points for Ole Miss (19-12, 7-9), which earned the Western Division's No. 3 seed in the Southeastern Conference tournament opposite South Carolina, No. 6 in the Eastern Division. Terrance Henry and Dundrecous Nelson added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Rebels.
Rotnei Clarke scored 26 points, Marshawn Powell had 14 and Julysses Nobles added 13 for Arkansas. The Razorbacks (18-12, 7-9) are the Western Division's No. 4 seed and will play the Eastern Division's No. 5 seed in the opening round.
Three-point shooting was decisive for Ole Miss, which tied a school record by making 14. The Rebels shot 63.6 percent (14 of 22) from 3-point range, including 5 of 6 by Graham.
Ole Miss took a 24-15 lead midway through the first half by hitting five consecutive 3-point shots. The Rebels were 6 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening nine minutes as Trevor Gaskins, Graham and Warren had two apiece.
The Rebels led 43-37 at halftime, but Arkansas pulled within one point twice in the second half. The final time came at 53-52 on a 3-point shot by Clarke with 14:35 left. Clarke had 17 second-half points and finished 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Ole Miss answered with a decisive 21-6 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Warren and Graham, to build an insurmountable 74-57 lead with 6:44 left. Arkansas never got closer than 10 points again.
Arkansas shot 43.5 percent (27 of 62) from the field, including 55.6 percent (10 of 18) from 3-point range. Clarke and Nobles combined to hit 8 of 11 behind the line, but the Razorbacks had 11 shots blocked, including seven by Reginald Buckner.
Ole Miss also won 69-60 at Arkansas on Feb. 5, giving it a sweep of the season series to earn the tournament seeding tiebreaker.
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