Despite late game efforts from Trent Pierce and Nick Honor, the Tigers could not complete the comeback against the Pirates.
Missouri men’s basketball struggled against the Seton Hall Pirates at the T-Mobile Center on the evening of Dec. 17. Despite a late run, the Tigers could not claw back, losing 93-87 and receiving their fourth loss of the season.
Junior guard Tamar Bates had one of his strongest games as a Tiger so far, recording 22 points in 28 minutes and knocking down all four of his shots from the perimeter.
The tip-off went in the direction of the Tigers, and the game was quickly underway. Seton Hall senior guard Al-Amir Dawes opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. Bates responded a few plays later with a three of his own, evening the score. Bates scored 8 of the team’s first 10 points in the first half.
The Pirates sparked a run at the 11:36 mark, going on a 13-5 run over the span of five minutes. This put the Tigers in their first hole of the game, down 29-21 with six minutes and 28 seconds left to play. The Tigers got the lead back down to 2 points after a layup from senior forward Jesus Carralero Martin, but the Pirates responded immediately by pushing the lead back to 8 points.
The Tigers could not get the momentum to narrow down the score in the first half, consistently remaining down 6 or 8 points. However, they got it back down to a 4-point deficit after a dunk from graduate student center Connor Vanover off a missed jump shot from graduate student guard Sean East II.
In the first half, East II scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting. He recorded three assists, but his shots were not falling. Overall, the Tigers shot 60% from the perimeter in the first half. They also made all six of their free throws and shot 41.9% as a whole.
The Pirates hit two 3-pointers to open the second half, marking another run for the Pirates. They went on a 10-1 run, increasing their lead to 14 points and putting the Tigers in another huge hole that would be challenging to climb out of. Graduate student guard John Tonje got some minutes in the second half, getting a bucket as well as a made free throw.
The lead only got larger for the Pirates, increasing to 63-44. With 12 minutes and two seconds left to go, the game appeared out of reach for Missouri, but East II started to increase his level of play.
East II scored 5 points in a row, bringing the lead down to only 11 points. There was hope again for Missouri.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Dawes had other plans. The Pirates went on another 10-point run, increasing the lead back up to 19 points.
Several of small runs composed the game. The Tigers had one of their own after the Pirates’ run, scoring 14 points in the span of two minutes. The lead was down to 6 points with three minutes and 32 seconds remaining. It looked as if the Tigers had a real shot to win.
Freshman forward Trent Pierce entered the game and hit a crucial 3-pointer, but the Tigers’ defense could not get stops. Graduate students Nick Honor and Noah Carter hit free throws down the stretch to keep the game within reach, but it was ultimately too much to make up.
Pierce hit another 3-pointer with under a minute to go, knocking down the lead to only 6 points. With only seconds left on the clock, a layup from Honor brought the lead down to 4 points. There just was not enough time for the Tigers to complete the comeback.
Pierce had a career high 8 points, knocking down two 3-pointers as well. East II got going in the second half, ending with 16 points and six assists. However, it was Bates who really stole the show with 15 points in the first half alone.
Missouri men’s basketball will travel up to St. Louis on Friday, Dec. 22, for a Border War matchup against the No. 13 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Following Illinois, the Tigers have one more out of conference matchup against the Central Arkansas Bears on Dec. 30 before starting SEC play.
Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Briana Iordan