COLUMBIA, Mo. – Playing its third game in six days, University of Missouri men’s basketball pulled away from Lindenwood late in the first half en route to an 81-61 victory Wednesday night. With their sixth consecutive win, the Tigers improve to 6-1 on the season and 6-0 in Mizzou Arena.
MIZZOU LEADERS
Graduate Tony Perkins led the team with a season-high 18 points off the bench, shooting 7-of-9 from the foul line. Graduate Marques Warrick added a season-high 17 points off the bench with three of the Tigers’ five 3-pointers.
Sophomore Trent Pierce scored all 12 of his points in the second half, coming one short of his career-best total. He added three steals off the bench along with four rebounds.
Sophomore Anthony Robinson II was productive with five points, seven rebounds and five assists. Graduate Josh Gray led the Tigers with eight rebounds, while junior Aidan Shaw led the Tigers with a season-best three blocks to go along with eight points off the bench.
GAME RECAP
The Tigers shook off early turnovers and took control late in the first half, paced by a 12-2 run over the final 3:30. Graduate Jacob Crews got the surge started with a 3-pointer, soon followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Warrick to build a 37-27 halftime lead. Mizzou’s bench outscored Lindenwood’s reserves 25-7 in the half, led by Perkins’ 11 points.
Warrick continued his hot shooting in the second half, scoring seven of the Tigers’ first 10 points after the break.
A pair of dunks from Pierce fueled another Mizzou run midway through the second half, pushing the lead to 59-41 with 10:11 left, the Tigers’ largest lead of the game. Pierce added eight more points in the half.
With 10:16 left in the first half, graduate Caleb Grill suffered a head and neck injury while reaching for a defensive rebound. After an extended stoppage, he was responsive and taken to the hospital out of precaution.
TEAM STATS
The Tigers shot 50.0 percent in the winning effort, while holding the Lions to 35.6 percent shooting and just 3-of-20 from 3-point range. The Tigers also scored 64 points off the bench, outscoring its opponent’s entire roster for the third time in the last four games.
The Tigers finished with a 46-25 rebounding edge.
UP NEXT
The Tigers host California in the SEC/ACC Challenge next Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on SEC Network.
