Quote:For the third straight game, No. 23 Missouri fell behind and then rallied only to fall short, losing 71-67 Tuesday night to Belmont of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Missouri (4-4), ranked as high as No. 3 this season, has lost three in a row and four of five. Coach Quin Snyder is 88-53 overall in four seasons at Missouri, but just 13-12 in December.

Steve Drabyn had 16 points for Belmont (6-3), while Nick Otis added 15, Adam Mark 14 and Jese Snyder 12. The Bruins shot more 3s than 2s, 35-20, and made 13 shots from beyond the arc.

Freshman Linas Kleiza scored 10 straight first-half points and 18 overall for Missouri, while Rickey Paulding had 21, Jimmy McKinney 15 and Arthur Johnson 10.

The Tigers appeared headed for an easy win after taking a 31-21 lead late in the first half. But a 36-14 run put Belmont up 57-47 with 8:50 to play.

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