ATLANTA-Brandon Knight decided that Mississippi had hung around long enough.
Kentucky’s freshman point guard scored the final seven points of the Wildcats’ 75-66 win over the Rebels in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday afternoon at the Georgia Dome.
Knight made six assists and scored 15 of his 17 points after halftime for Kentucky (23-8), which was led by Doron Lamb’s 19 points. Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson added 15 and 13 points for the Wildcats.
Chris Warren led Ole Miss (20-13) with 20 points, though he made just five of his 20 shots and four of 15 3-point attempts. His trey with 1:47 remaining brought the Rebels within a basket before Knight swished a jump shotand sank five free throws.
Kentucky’s largest lead (51-39) came five minutes into the second half, but the Rebels went on a 11-2 run to trim their deficit.
Terrance Henry had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Ole Miss, which shot just 34 percent from the field. Dundrecous Nelson scored 14 points, and Zach Graham added 11.
Kentucky will face Alabama in today’s semifinals.