Ole Miss improved to 5-0 Wednesday, getting a 77-76 win at Temple that was decided in the final seconds.
Allen Flanigan's free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as Ole Miss forced a Quante Berry shot from deep at the buzzer. Berry's shot hit the rim but didn't fall, giving the Rebels their first road win of the season.
"We gut was telling me rim protection over perimeter shooting," Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said, referring to the strategy of the final seconds. "I thought (Jamarion) Sharp did a great job of scrambling around on that last possession."
Temple fell to 3-2.
Flanigan led Ole Miss with 26 points. TJ Caldwell came off the bench to score 14. Matthew Murrell added 12 points and Jaylen Murray 11.
Hysier Miller led Temple with 21 points. Zion Stanford and Matt Picarelli had 14 each for the Owls.
Ole Miss shot 56 percent from the 3-point line and 51 percent from the floor.
"I thought we got some great individual performances tonight, which you always have to have on the road in college basketball," Beard said. "There's no doubt about it. Al put us on his back for several segments of the game in the first half and the second half.
"I think from our standpoint, we have a long ways to go. It's early season. I thought our defensive rebounding and our offensive rebounding in the second half kind of separated us a little bit."
Ole Miss won the battle of the boards, 36-29, including a 14-12 advantage on offensive rebounds.
Beard has said he believes this team will shoot well this season. That certainly occurred Wednesday.
"I think we'll end up being a good 3-point shooting team," Beard said. "I think it will end up being a part of our offense."
Down the stretch, Ole Miss had an eight-point lead evaporate and eventually disappear when Miller hit a pair of free throws with 1:39 left. Both teams had some empty possessions afterwards before Flanigan was fouled by Stanford on a runner in the lane, leading to the game-winning free throws.
Ole Miss returns home to face North Carolina State Tuesday.