Ole Miss built a 24-point lead Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU cut that lead all the way down to two points in the final minutes, but the Rebels held on late to claim a 76-72 upset victory.

For Ole Miss, now 12-10 overall and 3-6 in the Southeastern Conference, it was the third win in its last four games. It was Ole Miss' first win in Baton Rouge since March 2013.

"We came out in the first 15 minutes and just played lights-out," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said, referring to the Rebels' 13-point halftime lead, the largest for the Rebels in the series since that game nine years ago. The 24-point first-half lead was Ole Miss' largest lead in the series since leading the Tigers by 30 on Jan. 22, 2011. The Rebels won that game, 78-51.

Ole Miss held on for dear life at the end. The Rebels lost point guard Daeshun Ruffin to a knee injury midway through the second half. His primary replacement, Austin Crowley, fouled out with more than four minutes left, leaving Tye Fagan and Matthew Murrell to handle point guard responsibilities down the stretch.

"I don't know that I've been more proud of a locker room that that group right there.," Davis said. "We came out and played about as good as we can play. We talked about playing faster in transition and not play against LSU's half-court defense and we did that. ...We knew LSU would make a run. They had a great crowd here. We just found a way. It wasn't pretty at times but gosh, that team competed and I'm just so happy for them. That was a happy locker room."

Ruffin led Ole Miss with 19 points and three assists. Davis said Ruffin will get an MRI on his knee Wednesday morning but early reports seemed positive. Luis Rodriguez added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

"That's the best he's played since he's been at Ole Miss," Davis said, referring to the Los Angeles native. "He impacted at a high level on the road with his toughness. Good for Luis."

Nysier Brooks added 10 points and eight rebounds. Murrell and Fagan had nine points each. Jaemyn Brakefield added eight.

"That was a banged-up crew that just fought their hearts out," Davis said.

LSU fell to 16-6 overall and 4-4 in the SEC. Darius Days led the Tigers with 21 points. Tari Eason and Eric Gaines had 16 each.

Davis said Ruffin asked to return to the game after his injury.

"I wasn't going to let him," Davis said. "He seemed like he was fine in the locker room, knock on wood."

Ole Miss travels to Florida on Saturday with a chance to add another Quadrant 1 road win.

"When you play in these leagues, it's never too late," Davis said. "There are Quadrant 1 wins out there. There are wins all over the place. There are losses out there too but we've got another great opportunity at Florida on Saturday. ...College basketball is that close. We love our guys. We've got a lot of work ahead of us but yeah, we still have a lot of opportunities out there."