OXFORD — Sean Pedulla’s 3-pointer with 19 seconds left gave Ole Miss a huge win over Oklahoma Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak and ensuring the Rebels no worse than a .500 record in Southeastern Conference play this season.

Ole Miss trailed, 84-82, when Pedulla, an Edmond, Okla., native, stepped into a 3-pointer from the right side.

Oklahoma’s ensuing possession ended in a miss from from Dayton Forsythe with six seconds left.

Matthew Murrell’s free throws with 3.2 seconds left extended Ole Miss’ lead 87-84, and that ended up being the final when Mohamed Wague’s desperation 3-pointer from three-quarters court fell short.

“I was trying to get to the lane,” said Pedulla, who grew up an Oklahoma fan going to games in Norman. “When I came off the ball-screen, Sam (Godwin) did a good job of cutting me off and keeping me in front. At that point, it was just getting a shot off — a game shot that I like to shoot. I did a little in and out a little bit to get him off-balance and get my shot off. I just made a game shot.”

Ole Miss improved to 20-9 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. Oklahoma fell to 17-12 overall and 4-12 in the league.

With the win, the Rebels silenced any doubts regarding the NCAA Tournament, not that they were legitimate prior to Saturday. At this point, however, the Rebels are a lock for the 68-team field and will likely earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament later this month in Nashville.

“We’re trying to play our best basketball going into March,” Pedulla said. “Coming off the last two games, we felt like we under-peformed big-time. We needed to get back in the win column.”

driveway,” adding it was a “ballsy” shot because a miss likely would have given Oklahoma a chance to make it a two-possession game.

“It’s March,” Pedulla said. “You have to hit big shots.”

Pedulla led Ole Miss with 26 points, making five of his nine 3-point attempts. Jaemyn Brakefield added 16 points and eight rebounds. Dre Davis added 13 points and Malik Dia and Matthew Murrell had 10 each.

“We had enough guys bring their A-game offensively to where we were able to win a one-possession game against a quality opponent and coach,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said.

Forsythe led Oklahoma with 25 points. Duke Miles added 15, Jeremiah Fears 13 and Godwin 12.

RebelGrove.com’s coverage of Ole Miss basketball this season is presented by Window Hero. From window cleaning to pressure washing, gutter cleaning, gutter guards and everything in between, Window Hero has the experience, equipment, and expertise to make your property look and feel brand new. If you’re in north Mississippi, let Window Hero make your home or business’ exterior look amazing. Their experts are fully bonded and insured. Window Hero provides specialized equipment, exclusive cleaning solutions. a satisfaction guarantee and can clean up to four stories on buildings. Window Hero has locations in Oxford, Tupelo, Pontotoc, Holly Springs, New Albany and more. Roby and Susan Allen are dedicated to helping Oxford and all of north Mississippi with their windows, gutters and everything in between. Call Window Hero at 662-510-7077 to get an estimate. Learn more at WindowHero.com.

Ole Miss spent the better part of 30 minutes Saturday searching not only for offensive answers but also for energy.

With 8:19 left in the second half, the Rebels found both.

Brakefield missed a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, a desperate shot that caromed hard off the front of the rim. Pedulla cut for the rebound and grabbed it in the paint, near the free throw line.

Pedulla, who transferred to Ole Miss after starting his career at Virginia Tech, was going full-speed and subsequently dribbled the ball off his foot. Before the ball could go out of bounds, giving possession to the Sooners, Pedulla dove for the ball and saved it with a flip to Murrell.

Murrell, Ole Miss’ veteran leader, immediately returned the ball to Pedulla in the corner.

Without hesitation, Pedulla rose for a 3-pointer and hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Suddenly, Ole Miss had some breathing room via a 69-60 lead.

“It was just effort,” Pedulla said, admitting that he heard the crowd react to his save.

“I heard them get rowdy and when I got the ball back, I was like, ‘Well, the crowd’s really going to like this.’”

Oklahoma, to its credit, didn’t roll over. Not at all. Instead, the Sooners, led by Fears and Forsythe, clawed back and took a lead inside the three-minute mark.

Pedulla’s free throw with two minutes left tied the game at 80-80, setting up a wild finish that saw the teams exchange the lead in dramatic fashion.

“Oklahoma came to play,” Pedulla said. “They definitely fought us back in the second half. …Basketball is a game of runs.”

Two Forsythe free throws with 1:12 left gave Oklahoma an 82-80 lead. Brakefield answered with a drive with 53.7 seconds left, tying it at 82-82.

Duke Miles’ drive with 31.7 seconds left gave the Sooners another two-point lead, setting up Pedulla’s heroics.

“He hit a big-time shot,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said. “We were trying to switch and make him go downhill and not give up a 3. He kind of shook Sam and made a big-time shot.”

Ole Miss led by as many as 11 points in the first half before Oklahoma clawed back to take a one-point lead. The Rebels headed to intermission up just one.

Ole Miss plays host to Tennessee in the home finale on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.