The Tigers ended the game on a 31-9 run to defeat the Golden Gophers for their third win of the season.
Missouri only led Thursday’s game against Minnesota for just 10 seconds. That was all that was needed for the Tigers to pull off the 70-68 win on the road against nearly insurmountable odds.
The Tigers trailed by as much as 20 in the second half, but finished the game on a 31-9 run. The comeback was led by 13 second half points from graduate Nick Honor, who ended as the game’s leading scorer with 16 points.
The dominant stretch set the stage for graduate Sean East II. Needing a basket to take the lead, East converted an and-one in the game’s final seconds to seal the victory for Missouri.
“I just thought our guys never blinked,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “They executed my gameplan … our courage was the moments that we were able to fight back regardless of what was going on.”
The game opened with an offensive explosion from both sides. Through the first ten minutes of action, the teams were a combined 18/31 from the field, with the Golden Gophers holding a four-point advantage after 10 minutes. The game would remain close for the remainder of the half, as Minnesota went into the break ahead by six. Graduate Noah Carter led the first half for Missouri, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
While neither team seemed to be able to create separation during the first half, Minnesota seemed to do so during the first nine minutes of the second half. The Golden Gophers opened the half on a 20-7 run, doing so by dominating Missouri on the glass with seven offensive rebounds.
The frustration with Missouri’s performance throughout the game became evident during the stretch after a missed three-point attempt by graduate Caleb Grill. Grill believed he was fouled on the shot, and made contact with the official while he protested the call. This resulted in Grill being assessed two technical fouls and being ejected from the contest. Although it seemed as if the wheels were going to fall off, Gates believed this was the boost of energy needed for his team to win the game.
“I thought Caleb Grill gave us a spark by getting ejected,” Gates said. “I truly believe that without that, we lose the game.”
It appears that Gates was correct in his assessment, as Missouri became a different team after Grill’s outburst.
With the Tigers down 20, Honor turned the momentum in Missouri’s favor with 10 points in two minutes to cut the Golden Gopher lead by eight.
“Coach has been on me about shooting the ball,” Honor said. “I know the work that I put in … I just felt like I needed to step up in that moment.”
With Minnesota’s defensive focus squarely on Honor following his scoring streak, two unlikely heroes stepped up in freshman Trent Pierce and junior Curt Lewis, both of whom entered the game having not yet scored this season. The duo would combine for nine of Missouri’s next 12 points — five from Pierce and four from Lewis — that helped cut the lead to four.
“Curt Lewis hadn’t played, he went through something, but he responded,” Gates said. “Trent Pierce hadn’t played, he led us emotionally with some big plays on the offensive and defensive end.”
Following four points from junior Tamar Bates and a free throw by Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia, Missouri had the ball down by one with 16.6 seconds left. Even though he was struggling, shooting 3/11 prior to his final attempt, the Tigers left the final possession for East to make a play.
“We knew that at that point, once we got into the lane, that Sean East was going to be able to take us home,” Gates said. “That’s what we mentioned, take us home and do what you need to do.”
East would indeed take his teammates home. The guard lost his defender with a crossover at the top of the key, drove to the rim, caught his man in the air with a pump-fake, and made the layup through heavy contact while drawing the foul.
He would convert the free throw to put his team up two, and Missouri would get a stop as time expired to hold on for their third victory of the season. It was the first time that the Tigers won a true road game against a Big Ten opponent since December 6th, 2003, when they defeated Indiana in Assembly Hall.
“Being able to execute in a tough environment like that, it just speaks to our guys’ belief in each other,” Gates said.
Missouri will return to Mizzou Arena on Nov. 19, when they play host to Jackson State. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com