ATLANTA — Twice in the final two minutes Friday night, Ole Miss had the ball on the rim.

Once, Sean Pedulla’s layup attempt rolled off, preventing Ole Miss from taking a two-point lead.

Once, Dre Davis' baseline drive rolled off as well, stopping Ole Miss from tying things with a minute left.

In a Sweet 16 game against a 2-seed blue-blood, the margin between advancing to the Elite Eight and seeing your season end is indeed that thin.

Razor thin.

And razors produce the most vicious cuts.

Ole Miss simply didn’t win on Friday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, losing to Michigan State, 73-70.

The Rebels did nothing wrong Friday night. They just couldn’t quite put away one of the nation’s most prominent programs. The moment wasn’t too big. Ole Miss made plays all night. Michigan State just made more.

“Every season ends for every team except for one, with the feelings we have right now,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “It’s a little bit different for me this year. You dread that walk back to the locker room to talk to your guys, but this year just felt different.

“I'm just so thankful. I've never been this kind of emotion when a season ends, but I'm just thankful for these guys. To be in the Sweet 16 our second year at Ole Miss, it's the players, especially these two guys to my left (Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield) that endured the coaching change and stuck with us and decided to come back their last year and play for us.

“From a coaching standpoint, you don't want to get beat your last game of the season, and I didn't think we did. I thought today we just ran out of time.”

Ole Miss just kept weathering Michigan State rallies early, building a 10-point lead in the first half and then leading by as many as nine points with 12:15 left.

That said, the Rebels couldn’t quite land the knockout punch. That’s what the Spartans do well. It’s why Michigan State, under Izzo, has been a consistent contender every March. They don’t just fold, and they weren’t about to roll over on Friday night.

Late in the first half, down by eight points, Michigan State closed to within two points, taking advantage of a missed block-out on a missed free throw and turning it into a 3-pointer on a confused defensive set.

After JuJu Murray missed a shot on Ole Miss’ ensuing possession, the Spartans knocked down another 3-pointer to go into intermission down, 33-31.

A quick 8-0 run pulled the Spartans to within one point with 10:22 left. After that, it was a heavyweight fight. Michigan State just made one more basket and one more stop.

“That team was the toughest, most physical defensive team that we've played in years,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “It reminded me of the old Gene Keady, Clem Haskins teams when I started in this profession. They did a good job. I didn't think we did a very good job. We got stymied a lot.”

Ole Miss never led by more than three points in the final 10 minutes. The Rebels’ last lead came at the 4:04 mark on a Pedulla 3-pointer. Seventeen seconds later, Jeremy Fears Jr. hit a jumper to tie the game at 61-61.

Davon Barnes’ free throws with 2:28 left tied the game at 63-63, setting up the stretch run when the Rebels saw shots at the rim roll out and the Spartans got buckets to foul.

Ole Miss’ season ended with a 24-12 mark and the Rebels’ second Sweet 16 appearance in program history. The campaign produced proof of concept for Chris Beard. The Rebels collected multiple signature wins over programs such as BYU, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and more in the regular season. The Rebels beat Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference and then out-classed North Carolina and Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament.

This season wasn’t a Cinderella story. It felt much more like an arrival.

In modern college basketball, there’s precious little time to reflect. Malik Dia indicated Friday night he plans to return for another season at Ole Miss. Freshman Eduardo Klafke is expected back. The Rebels have two signees incoming. After that, the rest of the roster — as many as 11 spots — are up in the air.

The transfer portal, per sources, is more expensive than in previous years, so Beard and Co. will likely have to wait a few weeks to truly put this season in perspective.

When they do, I suspect, they’ll view this run as a launching pad of sorts.

“Ole Miss basketball isn't going anywhere, and we'll never forget these seniors that took us on a special ride this year,” Beard said.

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