Missouri men’s basketball welcomed the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Mizzou Arena Feb. 20 in hopes of splitting the season series. Although the game was much closer than the previous matchup, the Tigers still lost 58-56.
Missouri started strong defensively, forcing the Bulldogs to commit nine turnovers in the first half. Mississippi State’s offensive mistakes included a shot clock violation and a steal from junior guard Amari Davis that led to a fast-break dunk by senior guard Javon Pickett.
In the first half the Tigers held the Bulldogs to 31 points while not allowing a single Mississippi State player to score in double-digits.
“I feel like we played good defense,” redshirt junior guard Jarron Coleman said. “We just need to be more solid with putting our hands up and prevent them from going to the free-throw line.”
On the offensive end, Missouri turned the ball over seven times and shot 9-24 (37.5%) from the field in the first half.
Pickett recorded 10 of the Tigers 23 points along with two steals and two rebounds.
The Tigers came out of the locker room strong in the second half with an aggressive drive to the rim by Pickett and a 3-pointer from Coleman to cut the deficit to 35-33.
The momentum shifted away from the Tigers briefly after a flagrant was called on Pickett, but it shifted back when junior forward Kobe Brown knocked down a 3-pointer with 16 minutes remaining.
Sophomore forward Ronnie DeGray III provided a spark for the Tigers late in the game, grabbing an offensive rebound and dishing it out to Coleman for a 3-pointer to give Missouri the 54-51 lead with 3:42 remaining.
With the game on the line, junior guard Iverson Molinar stepped up for the Bulldogs with a layup to tie the game at 56 with 37 seconds remaining.
Mississippi State sophomore guard Shakeel Moore grabbed a rebound off of a Coleman miss and drove to the basket for an and-1 with 11 seconds left in the game to force a timeout by Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin.
“We got a couple good looks and I missed an open 3-pointer,” Coleman said. “Every play matters down the stretch, and we have to convert.”
After the timeout, Moore missed a free throw, and the Tigers grabbed the rebound to give themselves one final chance to win the game or send it to overtime.
Davis pushed the ball up the court and found Pickett for a 3-pointer, but the shot fell short.
“He made the play, but I felt like he should have driven to the rim,” Martin said.
Missouri fell to 10-17 overall and 4-10 in conference play following the loss.
Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com
