Ole Miss leading scorer Matthew Murrell exits game with apparent sickness

Ole Miss leading scorer Matthew Murrell checked out of the game against Georgia in the opening minutes and has yet to return to the floor.

Though it’s not entirely clear what is ailing the Rebels star, it appears to be an illness. According to 247Sports’ Brad Logan, the Ole Miss Network noted that Murrell immediately ran to a trash can after checking out, appearing sick to his stomach.

Murrell has not returned to the game and is not currently in the bench area.

The talented scorer played just the opening two minutes before checking out of the game. He recorded one assist before leaving the contest.

If Matthew Murrell is unable to return to the contest it would be a big blow for the Rebels. He is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points per game. In addition, Murrell also averages 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.

He soaks up a whopping 34.2 minutes per game, best on the team, so the Rebels will need someone else to step up in a major way in his absence.

Ole Miss trailed Georgia 18-13 with nine minutes left to play in the first quarter at the time of this writing.

Chris Beard offers Missouri encouragement

Ole Miss was the latest SEC team to beat up on hapless Missouri over the weekend, leaving the Tigers ever closer to finishing winless in conference play for a full season.

As things stand, Missouri is 0-16 in SEC play. But Beard sees some things from the Tigers that makes him believe it’s not as bad as it looks on paper.

“Mizzou is well coached. Period,” Beard said after an 84-78 win. “A reflection of what kind of organization you have is obviously how you handle success. You see a lot of kind of one-hit wonders in this business. That’s certainly not Missouri.”

Dennis Gates is in his second season as the head coach at Missouri. Last year, the Tigers went 25-10 and made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. This year, Missouri is 8-21 overall and 0-16 in SEC play.

“Unfortunately, we all go through kind of seasons like Missouri is having right now, and you absolutely see a team’s kind of character under tough times,” Beard said. “I’ve watched every game they’ve played and there’s zero quit in this team. So, lot of respect for [the] coaching staff here.”

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.