No. 22 Missouri finds perfect combo to top No. 16 Ole Miss

Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill combined for 51 points and 10 made 3-pointers in a massive 1-2 punch Saturday as No. 22 Missouri held a steady advantage throughout and topped No. 16 Ole Miss 83-75 at Columbia, Mo.

The only two Tigers scorers in double figures, Bates had 26 points with four 3-pointers, while Grill netted 25 with six from distance as Missouri (16-4, 5-2 SEC) was never threatened after the first five minutes.

Anthony Robinson II totaled seven points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Tigers, who are an SEC-best 15-0 at home.

Malik Dia recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals for Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3), which scored the game's first eight points before Missouri answered with 12 straight The Tigers took the lead for good at 21-18 just past the midway point of the first half.

Sean Pedulla had 15 points and six assists for the Rebels. Jaemyn Brakefield scored 14 points and Matthew Murrell had 12 with six rebounds as Ole Miss lost its third straight game.

Missouri went to the free-throw line 39, making 28 (71.8 percent), while the Rebels went 13 of 18 (72.2) from the line.

Possessing the same records and part of a five-way tie for second place, Ole MIss quieted the crowd right away with an 8-0 run as Jaylen Murray and Pedulla drained 3-pointers around a Dia dunk.

Missouri answer of a dozen consecutive points came with 10 from Bates.

Despite Ole Miss shooting 48.0 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers owned a 38-31 edge at the break, carried by 12 points each from Bates and Grill.

Missouri also shot 6 for 15 (40 percent) from long range in the first half with half of the makes from Grill. They also had 20-12 rebounding edge in the half.

In the second half, Missouri had a seven-point lead before Pedulla's layup cut Ole Miss' deficit to 54-51 with 10:15 remaining before the Rebels began to fade.

In the midst of a four-minute run without a field goal from Ole Miss, Missouri went up by double digits for the first time at 66-56, with 6:12 remaining on a 3-pointer from Bates' and eased to the victory from there.

--Field Level Media