(intense orchestral music)
- Tad Smith Colosseum, the building that had served
as the home for Rebel basketball,
was finally getting the reprieve from its duties.
On its last night of service for Ole Miss mens basketball,
the Tad Pad had one more memory to create.
One last overtime finish before the page
would be turned for good.
- [Voiceover] And right now Troy has been confident,
they were allowed to hang around.
Ole Miss has a fight on their hands.
Big shot!
- [Voiceover] Ooo Bernado! Buries a three!
- [Voiceover] Gielo... got it!
(crowd cheering)
Tied at 80.
Miller.
Moody knocks it away, and then a foul.
Saiz, sitting on ten points and eight rebounds.
(crowd cheering)
Here we go. Burson... no good.
Ole Miss survives Troy.
And the lights will go out at Tad Smith Colosseum
with an 83-80 win over Troy in overtime.
(upbeat music)
- Oh yeah, I might like the pavilion.
- You gotta tough showing. It's tough, you know.
Right now he's gotta get back to the grind
and earn that back on Thursday.
(upbeat music)
- Let's go!
The pavilion is official now. It's official now.
I don't want a partner right now, I'm too hot.
I'm too hot to give anybody else buckets.
I think the pavilion got the home feel on it already,
it don't even take time.
They built it real fast and it's already broke in.
I'm already wet in here.
I feel like a microwave even though it's cold.
This is what we got recruited for.
We're playing in The Pavilion.
(intense music)
- [Voiceover] Tonight is the opening night of
The Pavilion at Ole Miss,
this brand new basketball facility,
and all of it's breathtaking glory
will begin its history on the University of Mississippi
campus, here in Oxford, January the 7th, 2016.
- [Voiceover] It was... it was an incredible feeling
seeing all the people that was there,
all the support we were getting, you know.
Moving to a new place and seeing how many people
were getting out, you know.
And it was a great feeling.
- [Voiceover] Having a crowd like that,
you know what I mean...
I've seen it in other gyms, but having a home crowd
like that, it's definitely a game changer.
- [Voiceover] Coming from high school to junior college,
and now to Tad Pad, to The Pavilion,
it's like major leaps.
It was crazy, it was an experience that I'll never forget.
- [Voiceover] If The Pavilion signaled the next chapter
of Ole Miss mens basketball,
then it would be authored by head coach, Andy Kennedy,
and the Rebels.
However, Alabama would want to write a story of their own,
of how they upset the home team on opening night.
- [Voiceover] Now to Gielo, Gielo fires left-handed shot,
it's in and back in!
It popped out at Tomasz Gielo will have the first basket
for Ole Miss in The Pavilion.
- While the ball's leaving my hand,
I already knew it was going to go in,
but then it actually started bouncing around the rim,
and I wasn't sure if it's going to go in or not,
so there was that little moment of "uhh..."
- [Voiceover] Saiz turns and fronts Norris,
drives in, turns, puts up a little hook shot, scores!
He just took a power move on Norris to the rack.
Back to Perez to Moody again for three, he got it!
- [Voiceover] Well, you can feel the electricity.
A lot of excitement in here tonight.
You can tell the sixth-man of the Ole Miss fanbase is alive.
- [Voiceover] Gielo...
- [Voiceover] He's a guy, he's never gonna roll
to the basket, he's always gonna pick and pop
to the three-point line.
And when he goes quickly in rhythm,
he can make those shots.
- [Voiceover] Gielo drives, right-handed layup!
Sticks it on the glass and through, and drew the foul!
What a power move by Gielo!
He doesn't do that a lot.
- [Voiceover] Despite the energy of the sold-our crowd
urging the Rebels to an early 25-15 lead,
The Tide were about to go on a roll of their own,
and provide Ole Miss the first taste of adversity
in their new building.
- [Voiceover] Edwards, deep three.
Alabama starting to feel a little bit more comfortable
in this building.
Back to Obasohan, swing it around,
Edwards in the corner, got it. Good offense by The Tide.
Edwards for three, got it!
Alabama has the lead, their first of the night.
- Every game we play is going to be tough,
we're gonna have to grind it out, you know.
If you relax for one second, that's what happens.
Alabama... you relax for one second,
and Alabama just... they jumped on us.
- They finally caught their rhythm, they made some threes,
and then the game kinda shifted towards their way,
everything was going their way.
- [Voiceover] Another three by Alabama.
That's their sixth of the first half.
Obasohan, to Coleman, he fires.
He connects! Another three.
Alabama trailed 25-15, but they closed the half
with a 25-7 run, and they lead it by eight.
- [Voiceover] You just wonder how that happened
so quickly. Rebels playing very well,
the crowd's in the game,
and all of a sudden turnovers,
not executing on the offensive end
leading to some runouts for Alabama,
and Alabama finally started making some shots.
Need to talk about that at halftime,
make some adjustments for sure.
- [Voiceover] After regrouping at halftime,
Ole Miss would come out in the second half
refocused and re-energized.
- [Voiceover] Knocked away by Brooks,
and Brooks has the steal right here on the sidelines.
Great play by Rasheed.
Rasheed gives it up, gets it back, drives for the layup!
Down low to Saiz, and he goes up for a dunk.
Great pass in there from Newby.
- We talk as a team, we were talking about
making sure that we get the rebound.
We limit them to one shot if they get a shot up,
everybody box out, make sure somebody
gets the rebound and push in transition.
- [Voiceover] A.K. always says to control
what you can control, you know,
and energy is definitely one of the things
we know we can control as a team,
so we try to make sure we come out every game
as ready as possible.
- [Voiceover] Oh! Stef Moody!
Get up and throw it down!
- [Voiceover] Later in the half,
Ole Miss would regain the lead, 53-52.
Lying on their big man down low to maintain it.
- [Voiceover] Saiz answers, assist to Moody.
Saiz, another rebound. His 15th.
- [Voiceover] You know you gotta step your game up,
you wanna win some games.
And I feel the support from coach, all my teammates,
and that's what I gotta do.
We wanna win some games, you know what I mean?
- [Voiceover] Saiz... reverse layup.
Rebels can smell it here.
Excited about this one.
There it is.
700 buildings at the Tad Pad,
they win 490 across the street.
Game number one inside The Pavilion goes to Ole Miss.
74-66.
- Rebel nation, can I have your attention for one second?
I want to personally thank you for coming out today
and making this an historic night for Rebel basketball.
(crowd cheering)
If you keep bringing the energy,
we'll keep bringing the energy.
I got one question for you.
Are you ready?!
- [All] Hell yes! Damn right!
Hotty Toddy Gosh Almighty!
Who the hell are we? Hey!
Flim flam, bim bam,
Ole Miss, by damn!
- Hey, I'll see you Saturday.
This was my 320th game.
I like to say that because I can't even believe it myself.
This is my 320th game, which is such an honor for me
to be the head coach in the SEC in my home state
for our flagship university.
And I honestly felt more pressure than I did
when we were in the SEC Championship game
than I did when we were in the NCAA tournament,
and I didn't feel that up until I was standing
up on the sideline,
because I did not want to let these people down.
We've never had a game like this at Ole Miss.
This has never happened!
This is historic, and so I did not want to let em down,
and I would have felt terrible if we wouldn't have
got it done.
When I looked at the schedule, it helps you on the front,
it hurts you a little bit on the back end.
That's why tonight was so important.
But I saw they were still screwing in the seats
at about 7:59, so I think we needed the extra day.
Thank you.
- Thank you for attending today's historic celebration
and ribbon cutting ceremony for the brand new
Pavilion at Ole Miss.
- For us to have this to add to what Ole Miss
has always been about, I'm excited for our players,
but I'm really excited for you, Rebel Nation,
because for the first time in history,
we now have a venue that meets the standard
which is Ole Miss.
- I tell you what, I was emotional on Thursday.
Hotty Toddy, beat Georgia, go Rebels!
(upbeat music)
(intense music)
- I thought we were coming off and it was a quick turn,
that's what the pros do,
so we didn't use that as an excuse.
We just came out and try to do our best.
- [Voiceover] I mean, just to... in 24 hours turn around
and then have to go over Georgia film, scout,
learn some of their plays, some of their actions,
it's an adjustment, but you're just here to do anything
we can do to win.
- [Voiceover] Hoping to close out opening weekend
of The Pavilion with a win,
Ole Miss would once again channel the energy from the crowd
to jump out to an early lead.
- [Voiceover] And there's a steal by Moody!
Moody takes it down for the layup basket! 2-0 Rebels.
- [Voiceover] Yeah, nice anticipation there by Stefan.
He saw that lob pass, timed his jump perfectly,
was able to kind of tip the ball to himself
and go down and finish with a layup.
- [Voiceover] He steps up and fires...
And he splashes it down!
Moody, gets by four Dogs and reverses it in.
Dumps it to Kester, Moody tied him up, took it away.
No numbers for Moody.
Don't matter! He feeds Brooks!
Slipped it through to Rasheed Brooks!
- [Voiceover] Knowing that we have a student section
that's cheering for us and just going as hard as we are
in the student section, you know, that's great to see.
I looked over, I see A.K. doing it,
so I'm looking around, I'm joining with em,
I'm trying to raise the levels up too.
- [Voiceover] Yet Georgia would remind Ole Miss,
this was indeed SEC play,
and that the Rebels were in for quite the dogfight.
- [Voiceover] Loose ball, Frazier will get to it.
And he feeds his teammate, Mann,
who's able to finish at the rim.
Ogbeide with the rebound off the Moody miss.
Stefan Moody's been stuck on 11 for a while.
And the three the other way.
Out to J.J. Frazier.
Frazier leaks away and finishes off the glass.
- [Voiceover] He goes back out to Frazier,
left wing for three, and good.
And Georgia's getting rebounds that go
all the way out to the perimeter.
Kind of an up and down first half for both sides.
Georgia started slow, finished fast,
and at the half it's a 44-35 lead for the Bulldogs
on the road in Oxford.
- We don't want to give up that easily.
We don't want to let our people down,
so we just came out better in the second half.
- [Voiceover] Georgia, they were knocking down
some shots in the first half,
so the second half we made a vital effort to slow em down.
- [Voiceover] In the second half,
physical play by both teams would lead to a
freethrow shootout.
And with a minute remaining,
the outcome of this game would be determined
by sheer will.
- [Voiceover] Shotclock at 10.
Charles Mann to Gaines, to the corner for Frazier...
Big-time three J.J. Frazier!
His first bucket of this second half put Georgia up four.
Brooks in the right corner, fakes, backs up,
he shoots a three.
Good! He answers!
- [Voiceover] He got the defender in the air,
he probably could have drawn the foul.
Steps to the side and knocks it in.
- [Voiceover] I'm just here to help us get wins any way,
but it felt great just shooting that shot, making it.
It was a confidence booster.
- [Voiceover] Rebels down one.
Georgia 71, Ole Miss 70.
Moody gets it over to Perez off his hand,
and he saves it back in to Moody.
Oh my goodness, eight seconds.
Seven seconds, Moody penetrates,
throws up the layup, it's good!
With three seconds to play!
- So I look over to coach Kennedy
because he's always telling us,
"You can't hear in the building, look at me
"to see the next play call."
So I looked to coach Kennedy,
coach Kennedy calling for a timeout,
but Moody... Moody's so fast he's just going.
- [Moody] I was just trying to get a little ball movement
at first, and I'm looking at A.P.,
I try to swing it to A.P.
He's 6'9, I'm thinking he's gonna grab it, you know,
but his momentum was already coming forward.
- I saw Moody throwing the pass,
so I'm trying to catch it like a goalkeeper.
He turned it over, grabbed it again,
he pass it back to Moody.
- [Voiceover] When it got back to Moody's hands,
I knew... play over.
- [Moody] It was a garbage play.
I kinda just put my head down
and tried to make something happen.
- [Voiceover] Comes in to Mann.
Works down the sidelines, loses the ball in the corner,
long shot, it's off the iron! No good!
As Kenny Gaines missed a three,
and the Ole Miss rebels have pulled game two
in the Pavilion out of the fire, 72-71.
The Rebels win again.
- I'm just glad we got the win, man.
I'm glad I could be honored to give my fans
another win in The Pavilion.
I'm just happy for my teammates.
We here. We gotta continue this and keep goin.
- [Kennedy] I'm gonna admit something to you
that I just admitted to the television.
I was calling timeout.
Coaches can't get timeouts.
I'm yelling, and I forget the official,
and he says, "Coach, one of your players.
"You can't call timeout, you can't call timeout."
So by then, after we had had that lengthy conversation,
Moody had gotten to the right side of the floor,
and he had an angle, so I said "Hey,
"there's nothing more that we can ask for."
Downhill to his right hand,
he turns that corner... boom.
There's been some good moments
in the history of the program.
We've had a team that goes to the Sweet 16
in the NCAA tournament game,
it's not an easy thing to do winning an SEC Championship.
The commissioner hands you a trophy
and they pull out a ladder, that's a special moment,
but I'm not sure, really, what you can do to
top these last 72 hours.
It's really been an incredible, incredible voyage.
And for us to continue to stay the course,
continue to stay the course,
get stop after stop after stop after stop,
under 90 seconds to play, made a play,
you win in that dramatic of fashion...
What a 72 hours for Ole Miss basketball.
Thank you.
(intense music)