With one second left on the clock and the game tied up, Illinois senior guard Rayvonte Rice stepped back and let loose a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The ball sailed over Missouri sophomore forward Johnathan Williams III’s outstretched hands and into the basket as the final buzzer sounded.
The Illini dog-piled on Rice as over 10,000 Illinois fans erupted with cheers.
“I saw it go in and then (my teammates) kind of tackled me,” Rice said. “I didn’t see anything after that.”
Mizzou fell to the Fighting Illini in the 34th annual Bud Light Braggin’ Rights game by a score of 62-59 Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Illini grabbed a one-score victory for the second year in a row, as last year they took a 65-64 win over then-No. 23 Mizzou.
“It was a high-level college basketball game,” Illinois coach John Groce said. “Our ability to stay together and to close it out was a huge deal.”
Rice’s shot capped off a team-leading 19-point game for the 6-foot-4, 230-pound guard.
“We really have never seen a guy as strong as him like that could power his way and shoot the jump shot,” Mizzou sophomore guard Wes Clark said. “It was a big difference and it was a tough guard. He played good.”
Clark said there was really nothing more his team could have done to prevent Rice’s game-winner.
“We went through the timeout and talked about what we were going to do, and we executed,” Clark said. “Just a great shot by Rayvonte Rice.”
Mizzou hung on with the Illini for the whole game. Illinois’ largest lead was six.
While eight turnovers plagued the Tigers in the first half, Illinois’ lack of discipline on defense was a problem for them. Mizzou freshman Montaque Gill-Caesar was cut down by Illinois’ Leron Black at the basket while going for a dunk. Black was given a flagrant foul, and Gill-Caesar awarded two free throws. Just a few minutes later, the Illini were called for a dead-ball technical foul, again on Black.
Meanwhile, Mizzou recorded just three team fouls in the first half, and trailed 30-32 at halftime.
Momentum swung in the Tigers’ favor in the second half when freshman forward D’Angelo Allen hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, followed by a lay-in by Williams. The pair of baskets gave Mizzou a 50-47 lead with eight minutes left in the game.
“It just gave us a push,” Clark said of Allen’s three-pointer. “We had a few bad possessions down the stretch, and that three just woke us up. It brought a little more energy to the team.”
Mizzou and Illinois traded leads in the following five minutes until Rice found Nnanna Egwu for a dunk to put the Illini up. On the final Mizzou possession, Clark hit a jumper to tie the game with 17.8 seconds to go.
Clark finished with 11 points in his return to the starting lineup Saturday. It was Clark’s first start in four games, dating back to Nov. 26.
But the Illini would have the last laugh. Rice’s buzzer-beater put Illinois up 22-12 in the Braggin’ Rights series.
“You just can’t put yourself in that position,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said concerning the buzzer-beater. “Against good teams, you can’t do that.”
In arguably Mizzou’s best basketball game of the season so far, the Tigers still turned the ball over 14 times. Five of those turnovers came from Clark.
The loss dips Mizzou’s record below .500 to 5-6, while the Illini improves to 9-3 on the season.
The Tigers will take a 10-day break and then head to Kansas City for their matchup with Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Sprint Center.
“I think we need a break,” Anderson said. “We’ve played 11 games. We’ve been to Maui. We’ve been to Oklahoma. We’ve been here. It’s good to get away and have a great time with our families.”
