Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Defeats Missouri, 76-69, for First Conference Win of Season

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) AJ Storr dropped 26 points off the bench to help lead Ole Miss to a 76-69 win against Missouri in a battle on Saturday in the SJB Pavilion.

Ole Miss (9-7, 1-2 SEC) found itself trailing to Missouri (12-4, 2-1 SEC) midway through the first half, 22-12, largely in part to the five made three pointers from the Tigers’ offense.

However, after a flagrant one foul committed by Missouri on Travis Perry, the Rebels sparked a 7-0 run to cut the Tigers’ lead to three, forcing a visitor timeout.

The Rebels would take their first lead after AJ Storr cashed in on back-to-back three pointers to put the home team up 30-27 with 3:27 left in the first half.

Storr scored again down the stretch for his 18th point of the half, helping lead the Rebels into the halfway break up 37-36.

In the second half, the game remained a tight contest with six lead changes through the first 8:32 as the Rebels held a 56-55 lead, after a dunk from Augusto Cassia.

Ole Miss continued to hold on to its lead, later gaining the upper hand when Storr once again knocked down a contested left side corner jumper at the 4:34 mark.

The basket from Storr put the Rebels up 64-62 and sparked a 7-0 run, including the play of the game when Storr drove down the middle and threw up a jumping pass alley-oop to Augusto Cassia. The forward was hit midair on the reception, finishing the dunk for an and one, and converted the free throw.

By the end of the run, the home team led 69-62 and with just over three minutes remaining, the cushion was enough to propel the Rebels to victory.

Ole Miss will travel to Athens, Georgia for a matchup against the No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday, January 14 at 6 p.m. in the Stegeman Coliseum and broadcast on ESPNU.

For the latest news and updates regarding Ole Miss Men’s Basketball, follow the Rebels on X at @OleMissMBB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Basketball and on Instagram at olemissmbb.

NOTABLES

•    Malik Dia scored 21 points while grabbing 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, all within the last eight games.
•    AJ Storr contributed a game and season-high 26 points off the bench with zero turnovers, sinking four shots from beyond the arc.
•    Ole Miss posted seven turnovers, the fourth time they’ve had that many or less this season.
•    Koren Johnson helped facilitate the offense today with five assists and zero turnovers.