Missouri’s road woes deepen with 85-76 loss at Mississippi

Missouri had a golden opportunity to snap a 25-month road losing streak Tuesday in its first game at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.

Mississippi senior Stefan Moody wouldn’t let it happen, not in the Rebels’ swanky new $96.5 million digs.

Moody, who is the Southeastern Conference’s leading scorer, pumped in 29 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in an 85-76 victory.

“He’s got that ability to take the game over, not just by scoring points,” Tigers coach Kim Anderson said. “I think he takes the game over in many different ways. He does a great job getting the ball to other people.”

Moody’s around-the-back pass for a layup by senior Tomasz Gielo provided Mississippi’s first double-digit lead and also capped the game’s decisive run midway through the second half.

“We turned the ball over too much, especially there during that stretch in the second half,” Anderson said. “Their defensive pressure finally got to us. I thought we got maybe a little tired.”

Freshman guard K.J. Walton, who scored 11 with four rebounds and four assists, tied the game at 54 with a free throw around the 13-minute mark.

Missouri went nearly four minutes without scoring as the Rebels took control and won for the fifth straight time against the Tigers, who never again got closer than seven points.

Sophomore Jakeenan Gant failed to iron on a couple long jumpers, the first a three-point try from the left wing and the second a 20-foot jumper from the left baseline, but Missouri also racked up several turnovers, committed several fouls and also missed free throws and layups during that span.

“We started making silly mistakes and silly turnovers,” said sophomore Namon Wright, who scored 20 and finished 6 of 7 from three-point range. “We weren’t on the same page like we were in the first half, so that hurt us.”

Mizzou has now lost 25 consecutive road games dating back to a Jan. 28, 2014, win at Arkansas.

The Tigers also have lost 22 straight conference road games and 29 in a row away from Mizzou Arena against NCAA Division I competition.

Missouri, 10-18 and 3-12 in the SEC, was whistled for a season-high 31 fouls — sending the Rebels to the line 40 times, where they made 26 free throws — and got outrebounded 47-38.

Mississippi also owned a 32-18 edge on points in the paint, which offset Missouri’s 38-21 edge in bench scoring.

Junior Sebastian Saiz, who missed the Rebels’ 76-73 win in Columbia, finished with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

An earlier 10-0 run staked Mississippi, 18-10 and 8-7 in conference, to a lead in the opening minutes.

Missouri’s troubles were compounded when two starting guards — Wright and freshman Terrence Phillips — each picked up two fouls, leaving an already thin backcourt in desperate shape.

Enter sophomores guards Tramaine Isabell and Jimmy Barton, a transfer from Houston Baptist.

Isabell, who finished with a career-high 17 points, buoyed the Tigers with 14 first-half points.

Barton added a three-pointer, his first basket of the season, grabbed a rebound and dished a career-high two assists in a seven-minute shift midway through the first half.

Mississippi led 18-9 after Moody’s three-pointer around the 14-minute mark.

“He has the greenest light in probably all of America, so you never know when he’s going to shoot,” Isabell said. “He’ll pull from 40 feet if he has to.”

Gant, who finished with seven points and six rebounds, answered with a three of his own on the Tigers’ next possession.

Isabell followed with another three and a transition layup off a defensive rebound by junior Russell Woods, who returned to the team after missing Saturday’s game at Arkansas to attend his grandfather’s funeral in Chicago.

Isabell and Gant would combine for 12 points during a 15-2 run as Missouri surged in front.

The Tigers’ lead remained four points when Isabell put Moody on skates with a crossover move at the top of the key and barreled into the lane for a scoop layup and a 31-27 advantage.

The Rebels went back in front with a 9-0 run and led 43-42 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Freshman forward Kevin Puryear added 11 points and five rebounds for Missouri, while Wright and senior forward Ryan Rosburg also had five rebounds.

Tuesday’s summary

MISSISSIPPI 85, MISSOURI 76

Percentages: FG .448, FT .632. Three-Point Goals: 12-23, .522 (Wright 6-7, Isabell 2-5, Walton 1-1, Gant 1-2, Barton 1-3, Puryear 1-3, Phillips 0-1, VanLeer 0-1). Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 18 (Barton 3, Isabell 3, Puryear 3, Phillips 3, Rosburg 2, Walton 2, Wright). Steals: 5 (Isabell 2, Gant, Phillips, Wright). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .400, FT .650. Three-Point Goals: 7-28, .250 (Moody 4-11, Gielo 2-6, Brooks 1-6, Newby 0-2, Perez 0-3). Blocked Shots: 7 (Saiz 2, Newby, Davis, Hymon, Brooks, Gielo). Turnovers: 8 (Moody 3, Newby 2, Perez, Fitzpatrick-Dorsey, Davis). Steals: 7 (Moody 3, Brooks 2, Fitzpatrick-Dorsey, Newby). Technical Fouls: None.

Half: Mississippi 43-42. Attendance: 7,274. Officials: Anthony Jordan, Kipp Kissinger, Darron George.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Missouri’s road woes deepen with 85-76 loss at Mississippi."