Mizzou loses overtime heartbreaker to Mississippi, 90-87

Jordan Geist pump faked before calmly stepping to the side and pulling up for a 3-pointer. He drained it, putting the Tigers up one with less than five minutes to go. It was Mizzou’s first lead since they scored the opening basket of the game.

Missouri (18-10, 8-7 SEC) led for just six minutes made a 13-point comeback to force overtime, but fell to Mississippi 90-87 on Tuesday. Six Tigers scoring in double digits wasn’t enough to overcome an outing in which they turned the ball over 21 times and missed 11 free throws.

Missouri started ice cold from deep and missed its first four triples. Meanwhile, Mississippi (12-16, 5-10) couldn’t miss. The Rebels hit their first three 3s with two coming from the hands of Breein Tyree.

Tyree scored Mississippi’s first eight points to help it jump out to an early 11-4 lead. The Tigers cut their deficit down to two points with on a Jontay Porter 3-pointer, but the Rebels answered with a 13-5 run that pushed their advantage to 10 points.

Terence Davis came off the bench on fire, slamming home a dunk before draining two 3s as a part of the run. Mississippi’s red-hot start from behind the arc continued as it hit six of its first nine 3s.

Missouri managed to chip away at the lead once more, but the Rebels forced two straight misses and turnovers on a 6-0 run that saw their lead balloon to 13 points. Through nearly 15 minutes of play, the Tigers were getting thoroughly outplayed.

Kassius Robertson hit one of his signature fading threes and then finished a tough and-1 layup that made it 34-27. He screamed out after the whistle was blown, showing some excitement and perhaps frustration to go along with it.

Mizzou didn’t immediately respond to its leader and fell behind by double digits once again, but closed the half on an 8-4 run capped by two wild and-1 finishes by Porter and Jordan Geist.

All things considered, Missouri was fairly lucky to find itself down just 42-35. The Tigers were losing the turnover battle nine to one, allowed seven offensive rebounds, and surrendered six 3s in a half to a team that averages just eight a game.

Bruce Stevens made a hook shot to open the second half, then Tyree picked Geist’s pockets at halfcourt and got fouled on a layup attempt. Stevens pinned Kevin Puryear inside and finished another layup to put the Rebels up 11.

Davis answered a Jordan Barnett three with one of his own, and a Jeremiah Tilmon layup garnered yet another Mississippi triple. Every time Missouri made a push, the Rebels seemed to slam the door shut on any attempt at a comeback.

Porter hit a three that gave the Tigers life, but then they turned the ball two straight times on careless passes. It’d just been that kind of night. The Rebels were gracious enough to return the favor both times, though, and Puryear made it 56-48 on a dunk.

Puryear drew a foul after a sequence of misses and hit both free throws, bringing the Mizzou Arena crowd to its feet. Stevens silenced the Missouri faithful momentarily with a mid-range jumper, but Robertson nailed a corner triple in response.

Tilmon attempted to draw a charge, but was whistled for the foul on a Tyree layup. Mizzou’s freshman forward got revenge on the other end with a nice post move, and then Robertson drained a huge 3-pointer to make it a three point game.

Missouri played excellent defense leading to a desperation heave by Deandre Burnett, but he somehow banked it in. After Tilmon split a pair of free throws, Barnett swished home a straightaway 3-pointer.

The Tigers forced Tyree’s first turnover of the game and Puryear tied it at 64 on a soft floater. Robertson missed an open three in transition and Tyree took the lead right back on a pull-up jumper.

After another brief tie, Geist drilled his three to finally gave Missouri the lead. Barnett hit a corner 3-pointer that made it 73-71 after the Rebels retook the lead. Porter split a trip to the free throw line before stroking a three to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game.

Mizzou led by five with a couple minutes to go, but then the turnover bug struck once again. Geist turned it over on an inbounds and Robertson coughed it up after bumping into a defender. Mississippi used four straight free throws to cut its deficit down to one point.

Robertson turned it over on an errant pass, but an incredible chase-down block by Barnett kept the Rebels from taking the lead on a layup. Tyree missed a jumper and Geist was fouled while recovering the rebound. Geist made both free throws, but Stevens made a pair as well with 15 seconds remaining.

Geist drew a foul on the inbounds, but split the free throws with 8.7 seconds to go. Tyree tied it at 84 on a layup and Robertson narrowly missed a nearly half-court shot and the game went into overtime.

Missouri failed to score a field goal, missed five free throws, and turned the ball over twice in a horrendous five minutes of offense. The Tigers still managed to cut the lead to one point, but Tilmon and Porter combined to miss four straight free throws. Geist got an attempt at a layup obliterated with seven seconds left, and the Rebels extended their lead to three points on free throws. Geist missed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer, and that was it for the Tigers.

Missouri travels to Lexington on Saturday to take on Kentucky. The game will be aired on ESPN at 7:15 p.m. CT. If you need something to help you calm down, Michael Porter Jr. warmed up before the game. He’ll be meeting with his doctor in Dallas on Thursday.