March 13, 1999

By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) - In the end, speed beat size. Jason Harrison, the tiniest player on the team, made two clutch free throws and Mississippi was able to run around long enough to save a wacky 72-70 victory over Villanova on Friday in the first round of the Midwest Regional.

It was the first NCAA tournament victory for ninth-seeded Mississippi (20-13), which had lost in the first round four times. As a reward for beating eighth-seeded Villanova, the Rebels will now face top-seeded Michigan State in second-round action Sunday. The Spartans routed No. 16 seed Mt. St. Mary's 76-53 earlier Friday night for their 19th straight victory.

Harrison made two free throws to give Ole Miss a 72-65 lead with 1:54 left. T.J. Caouette's 3-pointer with 1:45 left cut the lead to 72-68, and then the Wildcats forced a turnover at the other end. Malik Allen came back with a layup to make it 72-70 with 55 seconds left.

Jason Smith missed a layup for the Rebels, but John Celestand and Howard Brown both missed shots for Villanova. After a timeout with 4.7 seconds left, Allen was called for a technical when he shoved Marcus Hicks to the ground before Mississippi could even inbound the ball.

Harrison missed both free throws, but the Rebels kept possession of the ball. Michael White got the inbounds pass and scurried around the floor, not letting any Villanova player get a hand on him until time ran out.

As the buzzer sounded, the Rebels started whooping and reserves and fans stormed the floor. Celestand lay on the floor, pounding his hand in frustration.

Hicks led the Rebels with 21 points, three off his career high.

Allen led Villanova (21-11) with 19, and Howard Brown added 17. Celestand, who came into the game averaging more than 20 over the last eight games, finished with 12.