SEC Tournament 2013 Championship Results: Ole Miss Rallies to Beat Florida

Mar 17, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi Rebels forward Reginald Buckner (23) and Florida Gators center Patric Young (4) jump for possession at the start of the championship game of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports /

The SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee came down to a match up between the Florida Gators and Ole Miss Rebels. While Florida was sitting comfortably in the tournament field, Ole Miss needed to win the tournament to clinch the conference’s automatic bid and earn a berth to the 2013 NCAA tournament.

After a thrilling second half, Ole Miss clinched the SEC tournament championship, 66-63.

Florida got off to a hot start and appeared poised to blow Ole Miss out of the water, but you can never count the Rebels out when Marshall Henderson is on the court.

Henderson came out motivated in the second half and hit some big time threes to close the lead. Of course, as Henderson always does, he added some flair to his big shots by running back down the court tossing up the “Land Shark” gesture.

The second-half surge by the Rebels allowed them to overcome a 12-point deficit at the half and they started to pull away. Florida appeared shell-shocked by the Ole Miss effort and were playing on their heels.

Florida was able to regroup and get the game back to a one possession game with under a minute left in regulation. They put the pressure on Ole Miss after forcing a turnover on the inbounds play with under thirty seconds to go. The Rebels’ tournament hopes came down to a few final moments.

The Ole Miss defense held strong in the game’s most critical moment, but Murphy Halloway was unable to convert both free throws which gave Florida a chance to tie up the game.

Ole Miss was smart enough to foul Florida with four seconds to go and Florida was unable to convert. After a wild final three-point attempt, the buzzer rang and Ole Miss was your SEC champion.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ole Miss is going dancing.

Tune in tonight for Selection Sunday as the entire 2013 NCAA tournament field is announced.

Be sure to stay tuned to FanSided.com throughout the entire tournament as we keep you up to date with the latest results. Will there be a Cinderella story in 2013? We will have to tune in and see.

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