COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mizzou Men’s Basketball secured its first SEC road win of the season with a 61-52 victory over Vanderbilt in Nashville on Wednesday night. Senior Reed Nikko scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, and sophomore Xavier Pinson added 17 points in 21 minutes to lead Mizzou.
The Tigers dominated down low, holding a commanding 42-27 edge on the glass, and scoring 28 of their 61 points in the paint. Mizzou held Vanderbilt to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and 19.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Commodores made just six field goals in the second half. It marked just the third time since 2016 that Mizzou held an SEC opponent to 52 or fewer points.
Redshirt junior Mitchell Smith grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and added six points while sophomore Javon Pickett snagged a career-best 10 boards and chipped in four points as eight different Tigers found the scoring column in a balanced effort.
Turning Point:
With Mizzou trailing 32-31 with 17:49 remaining in the game, Pinson turned the tide. He scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, including a deep 3-pointer and a tough jumper on two consecutive possessions to surge the Tigers in front, 36-32. The spurt launched a 16-5 Mizzou run that put the Tigers up by 10. Mizzou would never trail again the rest of the way.
Top Tigers:
- Pinson reached double figures for the fifth time in the last six games with 17 points.
- Nikko set a new career-high for the fourth time this season, finishing with 14 points and five boards. Nikko was perfect from the field, going 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Pickett and Mitchell Smith finished with 22 combined boards, setting new career highs with 10 and 12, respectively.
Notes
- Mizzou improved to 10-5 on the season when outrebounding its opponent.
- Mizzou is now +202 in bench production this season after limiting Vanderbilt’s bench to just four points. The Tigers have outpaced or matched 22 of their 28 opponents in bench points this season.
- The last time two Tigers had double-digit rebounds without scoring 10+ points was Russell Woods and Jakeenan Gant on Dec. 29, 2015 vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
Up Next
Mizzou returns home to host Mississippi State on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. It is the annual Military Appreciation Day at Mizzou Arena. All veterans and current military members receive free admission to the game.
For all the latest on Mizzou’s Men’s Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @MizzouHoops.
