Ole Miss basketball has proven itself resourceful this season when missing key members of its rotation.

The Rebels turned in a perfect nonconference slate even while Moussa Cisse and Brandon Murray missed time as they awaited eligibility rulings. They managed without Allen Flanigan last Saturday at Mizzou, when an injury limited Ole Miss' second-leading scorer to nine minutes.

But playing nearly a full game without Matthew Murrell? That was too much to ask of these Rebels in a 69-66 loss to Georgia on Tuesday at Stegeman Coliseum.

Murrell, Ole Miss' senior superstar, started the game as usual and played the first 2:20 before checking out for good.

The shooting guard entered the game averaging 17 points to lead the Rebels – a mark good enough for seventh in the SEC. He also serves as Ole Miss' best perimeter defender.

Without him, the Rebels (20-10, 7-10 SEC) hung around, but lacked the required firepower to win on the road against the Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11).

Georgia asserted control of the game around the 14-minute mark of the second half, when it snapped off a 7-0 run that turned a one-point Ole Miss lead into a six-point Bulldog advantage that Ole Miss never overturned, despite a late charge that saw the visitors trim an 11-point deficit to two points with under a minute to go.

Without Murrell's dynamism to lean on, the Rebels found themselves mired in an offensive slog in the second half. They shot 35% from the field in the second stanza, and endured two different stretches lasting over 3:30 without a point.

Jaemyn Brakefield, playing through pain, and Jaylen Murray led Ole Miss with 19 points each. But the Rebels didn't make enough 3-pointers to swing the outcome, shooting 6-for-21.

On defense, Ole Miss played well enough to win. To get themselves over the line, the Bulldogs countered the Rebels' aggression with a selection of back-cuts that earned them easy buckets at the rim. They scored 51 of their points in the paint or at the free-throw line.

Already on the outside of the NCAA Tournament picture looking in, this may be the defeat that pops the Rebels' March Madness bubble.

Ole Miss entered Monday with a NET of 78.

Allen Flanigan returns from injury for Ole Miss basketball

The main availability question heading into Tuesday seemed to lie with Flanigan, who left the game early against Mizzou with what coach Chris Beard called a hamstring issue.

Flanigan didn't start – he hasn't in the last three Ole Miss games – but he did play.

He gave the Rebels 33 minutes and 11 points on Tuesday. He struggled from the field, connecting on just one of his eight shot attempts.

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Up next

Ole Miss will close out the regular season at home against Texas A&M on Saturday (1 p.m., CBS). The Rebels won the first meeting between these two teams in College Station on Jan. 27.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball falters at Georgia without Matthew Murrell