COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers couldn't get over the hump.
Southern Mississippi had a lot to do with that.
The Golden Eagles took control midway through the first half Sunday and held off every Missouri run down the stretch to claim a 71-63 win against the Tigers in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament at Mizzou Arena.
"Obviously, we're disappointed with the loss today," Missouri head coach Frank Haith said. "You've got to give Southern Miss a lot of credit. They played their tails off. (They're a) veteran team, they know how to win."
Missouri senior Earnest Ross scored a game-high 22 points in his final game as a Tiger to lead three players in double figures. Missouri juniors Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson both added 13 points to help lead the Tigers (23-12), who were left with some questions following their season-ending loss in front of 6,033 fans.
The biggest question revolved around Brown and Clarkson, the team's leading scorers, who have the option to turn professional instead of playing their senior year at Missouri.
Haith didn't have any answers - not yet, anyway.
"I think all of our focus was on this game," he said. "We'll talk to those guys. I want them to get good information. I think a lot of kids don't get good information. I think both kids and their families will allow that to happen and they'll make a decision based on what's best for them and their families."
Neil Watson, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., scored 18 points and knocked down four 3-pointers to lead the Golden Eagles (29-6), who advance to play Tuesday at Minnesota.
Southern Mississippi was 23-of-54 (42.6 percent) from the field and knocked down nine 3s, but the Golden Eagles' defense played just as important of a role as their offense.
"We defended the right way, holding that team to under 40 percent on their home floor," Southern Mississippi coach Donnie Tyndall said. "We showed our resiliency and our toughness.
"I thought both teams really competed for 40 minutes and I thought our team was just fortunate to make a few more plays than they did and show some resiliency down the stretch."
Southern Mississippi led 42-31 with 17:44 to play in the second half, but Ross capped a 10-2 run with a 3-pointer to cut Missouri's deficit to three with 14:14 remaining.
The Golden Eagles extended their lead back to 10 in the next four minutes, but Ross' layup with 8:50 left pulled the Tigers within five.
Southern Mississippi had more answers for Missouri, which fell to 2-8 all-time in the NIT.
"Like coach said, I feel like you've got to give credit to them," Brown said. "They're a veteran team, they weren't going to let the crowd that we had here get them rattled or anything like that. When we hit a shot, you know, they came back and hit a shot. They're a tough team."
Watson and Aaron Brown hit back-to-back 3s to give Southern Mississippi a 61-50 lead with 7:28 remaining and the Golden Eagles maintained at least a five-point advantage the rest of the way. An acrobatic layup by Clarkson kept Missouri's hopes alive by cutting the deficit to 64-59 with two minutes to play, but that's as close as the Tigers would get.
"I thought we had a lack of execution down the stretch, but there's no doubt we played with great heart and great intensity," Ross said. "We all wanted to win a game. Sometimes when you give everything you got, sometimes you just lose, and today that's what happened."
Missouri jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first five minutes of the game, but Southern Mississippi went on a 17-5 run to take a 22-15 advantage with 6:45 before halftime.
The Golden Eagles continued to control the tempo, leading by as many as eight on two possessions, but Ross gave the Tigers some momentum with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner to bring the Tigers within five going into the second half.
"I was proud of Earnest," Haith said. "I thought his last two games here, he played with tremendous heart. I thought he really competed hard today and didn't want it to end."
But after starting the season with 10 straight victories, this is where it does end for Missouri.
And while Haith was disappointed the Tigers didn't make the NCAA Tournament, he was pleased with their overall effort in the NIT.
"I'm really proud how they embraced this tournament," he said. "We didn't have great execution today, we didn't shoot the ball well today, but I thought our guys competed."