Tamar Bates scored 26 points, Caleb Grill added 22 and No. 22 Missouri extended No. 16 Ole Miss’ losing streak to three games with an 83-75 win over the Rebels on Saturday night.
Anthony Robinson II added seven points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (16-4, 5-2 Southeastern Conference), who improved to 15-0 at home and 3-1 against ranked opponents.
Malik Dia scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Sean Pedulla scored 15 points and dished out six assists and Jaemyn Brakefield added 14 points for Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3).
Ole Miss opened the game on an 8-0 run over the first 2:16 before Missouri went on a 12-0 run over the next 2:39 with Bates scoring 10 of the Tigers’ 12 points.
Missouri did not trail over the final 32:56 of the game.
“It’s really hard to win in the SEC when the opponent shoots twice as many free throws as you,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said, referring to the Tigers’ 28-for-39 performance from the free throw line compared to his team’s 13-for-18 showing at the stripe. “(Bates and Grill) are two of the best players in the league. They had A-plus performances tonight and it was difficult for us to overcome.”
The Rebels turned the ball over nine times in the first half and 13 times overall after entering play averaging just 9.4 turnovers per contest.
Missouri, meanwhile, won rebounding, 39-28, holding Ole Miss to just three second-chance points. Ole Miss dominated in the paint, 36-18, but the Tigers’ bench outscored Ole Miss’ by 22 points, 31-9.
“I thought our guys were able to get into some creases, although we had a negative assist to turnover ratio,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “You have to get the ball first. That’s what this league is about.”
Missouri was 11-for-25 from the 3-point line while Ole Miss continued to struggle from deep, making six of its 20 shots from behind the 3-point line.
“We were getting open looks when attacking the paint,” Grill said. “I thought we did a much better job making plays on the offensive and defensive ends tonight. I think it all led to higher percentage shots with everybody making the right play.”
“Missouri does a great job putting pressure on the defense,” Beard said. “Tonight, the free throw line was tonight and they had two special performances. …I thought our guys fought basically even in the second half. We did a pretty good job late, just kind of playing it to the bone, giving us a chance.”
Ole Miss was without forward Dre Davis, who missed the game with an upper-body injury. The extent of Davis’ injury was not specified by Ole Miss officials. Guard Matthew Murrell, who was listed as questionable on Friday, played 37 minutes.
Davis, Beard said, “did everything he could” to get into position to play.
“He’s just banged up right now,” Beard said.
Ole Miss pulled to within four points late, but Missouri went on a quick 5-0 run to put the game away.
“We kept hanging around,” Beard said. “Something has to happen in the game to overcome how well Missouri played (Saturday).”
Ole Miss returns home this week to face Texas Wednesday at 8 p.m. and top-ranked Auburn Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We just stay the course,” Beard said. “This is the SEC. A two-game winning streak, it’s free breakfast burritos in the morning and people want to throw you a parade. A two-game losing streak, you feel like the sun won’t come up tomorrow. It’s short-term memory. It’s just staying the course, the same thing we do after wins. It’s just getting back to work. Right now, we’re in a little slide. We’ve played three of the best teams in the country and so it’s understandable in this league. We just have to keep working. …We have to play better and most important, we just have to stay the course.”
