Missouri men’s basketball welcomed the Ole Miss Rebels to Mizzou Arena Saturday night. Defense and unselfish play factored into the Tigers’ 74-68 victory, while strong performances from junior forward Kobe Brown and sophomore forward Ronnie DeGray III guided Missouri’s offense.

Brown did a little bit of everything for the Tigers, finishing with 13 points, 5 assists and a steal.

Brown’s versatility was on full display. He attacked the rim, knocked down jump shots and found open teammates for baskets. His ball handling skills opened up the floor as well, allowing him to pull up for jumpers on a couple occasions.

Brown orchestrated several big plays, such as dishing it out to junior guard DaJuan Gordon for an open 3-pointer late in the first half and grabbing a key rebound with 51.5 seconds remaining in the second half.

Missouri also got steady contributions from DeGray III, who finished with 14 points, two assists and one steal.

“DeGray III’s presence is always there,” junior guard Amari Davis said. “Even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, he still finds a way to make a big impact for us.”

DeGray III stepped up when the Tigers needed it the most, knocking down a 3-pointer to put them back up by 9 with 4:14 remaining when their lead was slipping away. DeGray III also had an assist off a backdoor cut by Brown with 3:29 remaining to regain momentum and hold off a late Ole Miss rally.

Brown and DeGray III were key in the Tigers’ unselfish play in Saturday night’s victory and will look to consistently perform in Missouri’s quick ball movement game plan down the stretch this season.

“The ball was moving, we were sharing the ball and we were active,” Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin said.

The Tigers improved to 10-14 overall and 4-7 in SEC with the victory. 

Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com