Missouri basketball drops 12th straight in narrow loss at Ole Miss

Missouri basketball led by as many as 10 points in the second half against Ole Miss on Saturday, but saw its lead diminish over the final 12 minutes of play, including a nine-minute drought without a field goal make.

It resulted in a 79-76 loss on the road at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Tigers (8-17, 0-12 SEC) looked rejuvenated after falling to both Texas A&M and Mississippi State at home by double digits. Missouri outscored the Rebels (19-6, 6-6) in the paint by a 30-20 margin and recorded more bench points than the home team. But the Rebels knocking down 11 3-pointers and the Tigers not being able to keep pace at the free throw line proved too costly in the end.

Here are three takeaways from the Tigers' 12th consecutive loss.

Tale of two halves at the free throw line

In the first half, Missouri played cleaned basketball. The Tigers turned the ball over just twice and when both teams went into the locker room, Mississippi had zero free throw attempts compared to MU's 11.

That shifted in the second half as the Rebels got to the charity stripe 31 times, compared to Missouri's 19, and knocked down 22 of them. Both Jordan Butler and Noah Carter got in foul trouble in the second half, resulting in just 14 minutes for Carter over the final 20 minutes of play.

Sean East II makes an impactful return

Missouri lost its previous two games by a combined 43 points. Both games were without leading scorer Sean East II.

Due to a knee contusion, East's status heading into Saturday's matchup was questionable, but he made his return to the court and put together one of his best 20 minutes of the season. He efficiently scored 45% of MU's 33 first half points on 5-of-6 shooting while going 4-of-4 from the free throw line. His ability to distribute shined as he tallied four first-half assists.

East finished with a season-high 25 points and six assists. He finished perfect from the foul line, going 12-of-12.

Big days from Aidan Shaw and Jordan Butler

Missouri got optimistic performances from a couple underclassmen. Aidan Shaw finished with 10 on 4-of-4 shooting and five rebounds. It was his second double-digit scoring performance in SEC play. Butler, making his seventh start, added 10 points. It was the freshman's first double-digit performance to go along with four rebounds. In a season full of lows, it was a promising sign to see the Tigers' young big men have productive nights.

Up Next

Missouri returns home to face No. 6 Tennessee on Tuesday. The game will be shown on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. CT. Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt on Saturday, 88-53, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri basketball loses 12th in a row, falls at Ole Miss