OXFORD, Miss. - Mizzou Men's Basketball hung around Ole Miss throughout the second half of its game at The Pavilion at Ole Miss, but found itself down by 11 points with 11:49 remaining and in need of a major comeback effort. The Tigers (7-21, 2-14) mounted an impressive run to take the lead, 72-71, with 3:11 left, but ultimately fell to the Rebels (18-11, 9-7) in the final minutes, 80-77.
Coming off the bench, freshman guard Frankie Hughes (Cleveland, Ohio) found his early-season form, dropping 22 points on Ole Miss for his third 20-point game of the season. Hughes was dialed in from deep range, hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc. A 54.8-percent shooter from the charity stripe, Hughes converted 5-of-6 of his foul shots to bolster his strong road effort.
Also playing pivotal roles off the bench for the Tigers were junior forward Jordan Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshman forward Reed Nikko (Maple Grove, Minn.). Barnett scored 14 points (6-of-11 FG, 2-of-5 3PT) and hit multiple triples in a game for the 10th time this season.
Nikko played a season-high 23 minutes, all while still recovering from his early ankle injury that sidelined him for four games of Mizzou's nonconference schedule. Nikko turned in one of his better performances of the season, recording eight points (3-of-4 FG, 2-of-3 FT) and a season-high nine rebounds.
Boosted by 10 first-half points from Hughes, Mizzou trailed Ole Miss by three points, 29-26, at the halftime break. Mizzou exploded for 51 second-half points. Sophomore guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) followed Hughes' 12 points in the second half with 11 of his own, all after the break. Geist earned a starting nod for the Tigers for the first time since Feb. 2 at Florida, and responded with his seventh game of the season scoring 10 points or more.
Ole Miss grew its lead late in the game to as many as four after the Tigers grabbed their one-point advantage. Mizzou got within one again, 78-77, thanks a three-pointer from sophomore guard Cullen VanLeer (Pacific, Mo.), his second of the game. VanLeer finished with 10 points (3-of-4 FG, 2-of-3 3PT, 2-of-2 FT) and four rebounds, his fifth game this season scoring in double digits.
Facing a three-point deficit after Ole Miss converted its free throws, Mizzou was unable to land two separate three-pointers in an attempt to force overtime, dropping the road battle by a score of 80-77.
The Tigers return home to Mizzou Arena for the final time this season to host Senior Night vs. Texas A&M on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, with live coverage on the SEC Network and the Tiger Radio Network.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team at @MizzouHoops (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
