Junior Ryan Rosburg sunk a free throw, and Missouri took a 3-2 lead three and a half minutes into its season opener against Missouri-Kansas City. The Tigers held that lead for 34 seconds, and would not regain it for the rest of the night, falling to the Kangaroos 69-61 Friday at the Mizzou Arena.
“Obviously we didn’t play very well,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “You’ve got to give them credit. I think they came out and set the tone for the game. We spent the whole night on our heels.”
UMKC was a team that finished 10-20 last season in the Western Athletic Conference and ranked 254 in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Rating Percentage Index.
“It’s disappointing that it’s UMKC, but it’s still a learning process,” sophomore guard Wes Clark said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys — a lot of new faces. We’re just trying to find out what’s the problem, and how to fix it.”
It didn’t start off pretty for the Tigers. The game’s first 12 minutes saw three missed free throws from Rosburg, eight Mizzou team fouls (two on the offensive end), a couple missed layups, and a botched dunk by sophomore Johnathan Williams III.
But unforced errors were not the only thing going wrong for the Tigers. Much like Missouri-St. Louis did last Saturday, UMKC started out hot from outside the arc, hitting three of their four three-point attempts to begin the game. They kept the pressure on the Tigers with a five-for-nine three-point shooting mark at halftime.
The Tigers, on the other hand, missed their first five three-point attempts and struggled heavily against UMKC’s zone defense.
“We just didn’t come out and match their intensity,” Clark said. “Our chemistry wasn’t all the way there. We were missing shots. It was just different for us.”
Anderson said his team is still trying to find itself offensively. The Tigers shot 38 percent from the field on Friday, and turned the ball over 17 times.
“I know I’m supposed to be ‘Mr. Defense,’ but I like offense,” Anderson said. “Push the ball. If you’re going to make a mistake, make it going to the basket. We were really tentative.”
Mizzou’s cold streak from three came to an end when Clark sunk one from the top of the key 14 minutes in. Senior guard Keith Shamburger scored one of his own just a minute later. But that was all the Tigers got from long-range in the first half, as they held a two for ten mark at halftime.
As a result, the Kangaroos jumped out to a 21-9 advantage 12 minutes in, and held an eleven-point lead at halftime.
Seven minutes into the second half, three-pointers by freshman guards Montaque Gill-Caesar and Tramaine Isabell on consecutive possessions livened the crowd and pulled the Tigers within five.
But the Tigers would get no closer than within three a few minutes later. The Tigers fell into deeper foul trouble to the Kangaroos, who went 23 for 29 from the line Friday. UMKC sophomore Martez Harrison lead the way making 15 of 16 free throws en route to a 26-point night for the guard. Williams III fouled out for Mizzou with 3:49 remaining in the game.
“They did a good job of causing us to foul,” Anderson said. “I just thought we were a step slow, and I don’t know why.”
Freshman forward Jakeenan Gant was inactive for the season-opener as Mizzou reviews an eligibility issue for the four-star recruit out of Springfield, Georgia. Gant started Missouri’s Oct. 29 exhibition against William Jewell College in place of the then-injured Williams III.
Gill-Caesar was the leading scorer for the Tigers with 21 points. He went 1-6 from 3-point range in his first collegiate basketball game after forgoing his senior year of high school to join the Mizzou squad.
“With any game it’s a learning process, whether it’s your first game or your last game,” Gill-Caesar said. “I think we all understand that. We all need to be accountable.”
The Tigers return to action Sunday for a matchup against Valparaiso at Mizzou Arena. Anderson believes his young team can bounce back after a day of practice.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Anderson said. “They might not be, but I am. I’m looking forward to trying to teach what we did wrong.”
Anderson also cautioned not to overreact to one rough outing.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” he said. “I knew there would be challenges. We’ll regroup.”