AUSTIN, Texas — After taking an 18-point lead in the first half that evaporated after a bad close to the first half and a bad start to the second half, the Texas Longhorns used a 14-0 run over the final 2:43 to secure a 79-68 win over the Ole Miss Rebels and former head coach Chris Beard on Saturday the Moody Center.

Ole Miss missed its last seven shots as Texas finished on 7-of-9 shooting streak. The Rebels have now lost five straight games.

Texas sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis finished one point short of his career high in leading Texas with 27 points and seven rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line. Graduate guard Tramon Mark added 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists while senior guard Jordan Pope scored eight of his 13 points over the final 5:27.

Keyed by Vokietaitis, the Longhorns notched a 32-16 edge in points in the paint and a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points and overcame a quiet performance by junior wing Dailyn Swain, who had seven points and four turnovers in failing to reach double figures in scoring for only the third time this season. The Xavier transfer did provide a boost on the glass with nine rebounds and dished out four assists, tying Mark for the team high.

After Ole Miss forward Augusto Cassia hit an early three, his third of the season on 12 attempts, Vokietaitis went to work in the low post, hitting a jump hook over multiple defenders before drawing two shooting fouls on Cassia and hitting all four attempts at the line.

Besides the three from Cassia, the mediocre Ole Miss offense missed six of its first seven shots as Vokietaitis had a put back on a missed layup by Swain, who also had two early turnovers in a poor start. The early lead extended to 11-4 at the first media timeout after Pope was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit his three free throws.

Out of the timeout, Texas struggled to take care of the basketball, as Pope turned it over trying to initiate the offense, then committed his second foul on what turned into a three-point play, and Swain committed his third turnover dribbling in traffic as Ole Miss loaded its defense against him.

The poor shooting for the Rebels continued, however, hitting just 3-of-16 attempts at the under-12 timeout, after which the Horns extended their lead to 22-11 behind two more free throws from Vokietaitis, two jumpers by Mark, and a deep three from junior wing Cam Heide.

Effort from senior guard Chendall Weaver keyed a dunk by Vokietaitis and forced a jump ball that turned into a possession. When a defensive rebound by Swain turned into a fast-break opportunity, Mark hit a three from the corner to make it 27-11 at the 8:16 timeout and force a timeout by Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard thanks to a 14-0 run over four minutes with the help of five straight missed shots by the Rebels.

The scoring drought ultimately lasted 7:16 for Beard’s team with 10 straight misses, although Vokietaitis missed the front end of two one-and-ones as the Ole Miss struggled to defend without fouling, a consistent theme for the Rebels this season. Pope ended a short scoreless drought for the Longhorns by getting to the line himself and Swain scored on an offensive rebound to end a 9-0 run by the Rebels.

Ole Miss cut the deficit to 10 points at the 1:53 mark, setting up a critical end to the half. Texas responded as Mark used the bounce to draw defenders and hit Vokietaitis working from the dunker’s spot and a spinning floater from junior guard Simeon Wilcher found the bottom of the net, but a miscommunication on pick-and-roll coverage led to an open jumper for Ole Miss and Mark wasn’t aware enough of the shot clock on a violation that sent the game into halftime with Texas up 37-25.

A three to open the second half cut the deficit to single digits and a turnover by the Horns produced a fast break and a shooting foul on Wilcher. Mark hit two jumpers after the Rebels split the trip to the free-throw line, but head coach Sean Miller’s team was struggling to come up with stops defensively. By the time that penetration produced an assisted layup by Cassia, the Texas lead was down to six points and Miller had to call at timeout at the 17:08 mark after the poor start to the half.

It didn’t help offensively as Pope and Heide both missed threes before the under-16 timeout as Ole Miss made another jumper to make it 41-37. Vokietaitis did convert his trip to the line after the media break, but Cassia made another three and Patton Pinkins got into the lane for a jumper to cut the margin to a single point and then took the lead on another three, forcing a second second-half timeout by Miller.

Into a zone defense, Ole Miss produced a turnover on a bad pass by Vokietaitis, then made its third three of the second half before a bad foul by Texas sent the game into the under-12 timeout with the Rebels 9-of-9 shooting in the second half.

The Longhorns made their own attempt at playing zone and got the Rebels to miss a decent look at a three, then Mark found Vokietaitis for a lob layup. A second-chance opportunity for Ole Miss paid off with a made three, countered on the other end by a three from Heide. Vokietaitis responded to committing a shooting foul that resulted in two made free throws by the Rebels with a three-point play on offense and another three-point play opportunity on the next possession that he couldn’t convert as Texas regained the lead, 55-52.

A lack of hustle by Mark after a miss allowed an easy basket by Ole Miss and a turnover produced a second-chance basket by the Rebels to go back in front. Mark did save a bad offensive possession with a late-clock jumper in the lane and drew an offensive foul on a switch to send the game into the under-eight timeout with Ole Miss up 58-57.

A driving layup by Pope brought the crowd to its feet for the first time before Vokietaitis used his big body to create some space in the lane for Mark to hit a short jumper, but Heide committed a foul on a jump shooter that wasn’t converted, but Ole Miss came up with the offensive rebound and Swain committed a foul that sent the Rebels to the line for two made free throws.

Pope got into the middle for a made jumper to tie the game at 65-65, broken by a defensive breakdown that gave up an open three to the Rebels. Then the Oregon State transfer hit a triple and drew a shooting foul to send the game into the under-four timeout tied at 68-68 with 2:43 left.

Pope converted the four-point play, Texas got a stop defensively, and an offensive rebound by Swain resulted in a three-point play and a timeout by Beard with the Longhorns up four points. Ole Miss settled for a bad three that missed, but Mark stepped out of bounds trying to secure the loose ball and Beard called another timeout at the 1:21 mark. When Vokietaitis effectively challenged a shot near the rim, Weaver came up with a big offensive rebound and Wilcher rattled home a three off the bounce to beat the shot clock and give the Horns the decisive advantage that forced the Rebels to start fouling.

Mark converted both and Wilcher secured a defensive rebound and the Longhorns closed the game out with the team’s third consecutive SEC win.

Texas heads back on the road to Missouri next Saturday after a midweek break. Tip is at 7:30 p.m. Central on ESPN or ESPN2.