Men’s Basketball Cruises Past LIU, 88-61
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri men’s basketball extended its winning streak to nine with an 88-61 victory over LIU on Saturday before 8,969 fans at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers improve to 9-1 following the contest paced by Trent Pierce’s career-high 24 points.
MIZZOU LEADERS
Three Tigers scored in double figures to lead Missouri to victory. Pierce’s 24 points marked Mizzou’s seventh player to lead the team in scoring this season (in just 10 games). Graduate Marques Warrick added 16 points, shooting 6-of-8 overall and 4-of-5 from deep.
Junior Mark Mitchell added 15 points, while registering a team-best seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Sophomore Anthony Robinson II grabbed a season-high and team-best six steals while also adding eight points in just 23 minutes of action.
GAME RECAP
The Tigers and the Sharks traded points following the opening tip before senior Tamar Bates sparked the offense for Mizzou, leading it to an early 14-0 run. Aidan Shaw and Warrick kept momentum going for the Tigers by sinking 3-pointers early in the half alongside multiple layups by Mitchell.
Near the end of the opening frame, Pierce continued the pressure on the LIU defense, scoring 17 of the team’s final 19 points to stretch the Mizzou advantage. The wing capped his monstrous first half with 17 points – setting a new career high by the break – making four 3-point shots to go with four rebounds in just eight minutes of action, building a 45-24 lead.
Defensively, Robinson II added four steals in the first half and Mitchell notched four rebounds to hold the Sharks to 24 points and 31 percent from the field at the end of the half.
Graduate Tony Perkins opened the scoring for the second half with a 3-point bucket for the Tigers, recording his first points of the game. A 15-0 stretch then sealed the victory en route to the 27-point victory – the team’s ninth straight.
TEAM STATS
Missouri shot 56.4 percent in the winning effort with a 14-of-28 performance (50 percent) from 3-point range. The Tigers also held the Sharks to 37.5 percent from the field with an 8-of-24 mark from 3-point range.
The Tigers bench tallied 53 points on the afternoon, the sixth time this season the team totaled at least 50 in the statistic.
UP NEXT
The Tigers look to extend their winning streak to 10, hosting Jacksonville State on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball Downs Lipscomb to Earn Fifth Straight Win
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri women’s basketball notched its fifth-straight win with a 78-57 victory over Lipscomb Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
Sophomore guard Abbey Schreacke led Missouri (10-3, 0-0 SEC) with 16 points in just 16 minutes off the bench. Schreacke connected on four of eight 3-point attempts to bolster her total.
Graduate point guard De’Myla Brown notched a season-high 13 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Senior forward Laniah Randle added 12 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Senior guard Nyah Wilson opened the game with a bucket inside the paint as the Tigers would trade scores with Lipscomb (6-4, 0-0 ASUN) throughout the opening quarter. A turnaround jumper in the paint by sophomore guard Averi Kroenke sparked an 8-0 run in the heart of the frame, while a 3-pointer by Wilson in the closing seconds of the quarter would give Missouri a 24-22 edge.
A bucket behind the arc from junior guard Ashton Judd would open scoring for Missouri in the second quarter. Judd scored five of her total in the period to lead the Tigers while Randle contributed four points. A steal and layup in the half’s final seconds by Brown gave Missouri a 35-34 lead at the break. Defensively, the Tigers held the Bisons to just 11 points in the second quarter, while forcing four turnovers.
Sophomore Grace Slaughter took over the contest in the third quarter as she scored nine of her total in the frame. Leading by five with just over three minutes left, Slaughter connected on a 3-pointer that ignited a 10-2 run that was capped off by a Schreacke triple in the final minute. The offensive momentum gave the Tigers a 56-46 advantage to mark their first double-digit lead of the contest.
In the fourth, a block from Randle followed by a 3-pointer in transition from Brown created a 10-2 run for Missouri that continued to extend the lead. Schreacke notched a steal and fastbreak layup before securing the game with a 3-pointer in the final minute.
The Tigers had 38 bench points to the Bisons nine. Missouri also totaled 15 fastbreak points while holding Lipscomb scoreless in the offensive category.
The lead changed 16 times throughout the game, making it the most the lead has changed for the Tigers this season.
UP NEXT
Missouri will seek its six-straight victory at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against Oral Roberts at Mizzou Arena. The contest will stream live on SECN+.
