'They Were The Tougher Team': Rebels' Chris Beard Reviews Second Loss to Tigers

The Ole Miss Rebels lost to the Auburn Tigers again on Saturday night after being outscored by 23 points in the second half.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team lost to the Auburn Tigers again on Saturday night 91-77, and consequently lost its first game of the season in the friendly confines of the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. 

Ole Miss was on a mission in the first half, as the Rebels led by as many as 13 points and entered halftime with a nine-point lead over the Tigers. The second half is where things got ugly for Ole Miss, however, as Auburn outscored the Rebels by 23 points to seal the deal in Oxford. 

Chris Beard gave his initial reaction to the loss during his postgame press conference, and emphasized that toughness and conditioning were important factors in the second period.

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"I thought the tougher, better conditioned team won the game in the second half," Beard told reporters. "We played really well in the first half in a lot of ways to be up nine [at halftime]. We gave up a three at the end of the first half which was a missed assignment, so really we could have been up 12 at half. Then the second half was just a different side of the coin. They were the tougher team, definitely better conditioned team in the second half."

Beard was not pleased with the results on the hardwood, but showed gratitude to the Ole Miss faithful who packed the Pavilion.

"Really thankful and appreciative of the crowd," Beard said. "One of the best crowds in college basketball tonight. We've worked really hard to build this in our first season. We had a nice home winning streak in November, December, and January - our fans were great to us. Now let's respond. Can't wait to get back here and play again to put a better effort out there for the fans."

'One of The Best Environments in College Basketball': Rebels' Beard Applauds Home-Court Advantage vs. Mississippi State

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl knows how hard it is to establish a winning basketball culture in the Southeastern Conference, and gave Beard props for the progress he has made at Ole Miss in a short period of time.

"I told [Beard] before the game, what you've done in six months took me three years to do at Auburn," Pearl said postgame. "It was a big weekend. Sold-out crowd, and this was one of the hardest environments that we'll play against."

Beard's first season has not always been glamorous, but it is important to keep things in perspective, as he has not even been at Ole Miss for a year. Beard is already bringing in sold-out crowds just 22 games into his tenure, and the Rebels still have a great shot at making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.

Ole Miss will now hit the road to take on the red-hot South Carolina Gamecocks, who hold an overall record of 19-3 (7-2 SEC) entering their matchup with the Rebels on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.