La Salle tops Mississippi with layup in final seconds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The last time La Salle advanced this far in the NCAA Tournament, there was no round of 16. The field was only 24 teams.

Tyrone Garland banked home a scooping layup with two seconds left as 13th-seeded La Salle beat Mississippi, 76-74, Sunday night, giving the Explorers their deepest run in the tournament since they played for the championship in 1955.

Ramon Galloway scored 24 points, Tyreek Duren had 19 and Garland added 17 for the upstarts from the Atlantic 10. The Explorers (24-9) played their third game in five days but showed no sign of fatigue. In the round of 16 in Los Angeles on Friday, La Salle will meet ninth-seeded Wichita State in a West Regional semifinal.

No. 12 Ole Miss (27-9) led 74-72 with 1:58 left but failed to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001.

After Duren's two foul shots tied it 74 at the 1:07 mark, Mississippi star and team lightning rod Marshall Henderson missed an off-balance bank shot that would have given the Rebels the lead.

Henderson had 21 points in a game with 11 lead changes. Murphy Holloway had 14 points for Mississippi, which fell one win shy of breaking the school record. Jarvis Summers had 12 and Nick Williams had 10 for the Rebels, who were a miserable 10-for-21 from the foul line.

In the frantic final seconds, Mississippi's LaDarius White missed from the top of the key and the ball scooted out of bounds while everybody went for the rebound. The Rebels were given possession and Henderson's off-balance shot failed to draw iron. Before he could launch another try, the buzzer sounded, giving La Salle possession with 33.2 seconds left, even though Henderson pleaded with an official, saying, "He took my hand off."

The Explorers brought the ball upcourt, with most everybody expecting Galloway to take the shot. But Garland worked his way inside and threw up a scooping bank shot over Reginald Buckner. Jarvis Summers then missed a desperation heave for Ole Miss.