Over the first 11 minutes of its matchup Saturday against Arkansas, Missouri men’s basketball looked listless.
The Tigers trailed by 15 following a Meleek Thomas triple that capped a 9-0 Razorbacks run as it looked like the visitors might dispatch MU in a total knockout. But Mizzou found a spark heading into halftime, hitting Arkansas with a heavy counterpunch to fight its way back and set up another back-and-forth matchup during a season full of tight SEC contests in Columbia.
It was the Razorbacks
that connected on the decisive swing, though, outlasting the Tigers 88-84 in an overtime thriller.
Former Tiger Trevon Brazile was the one to deliver the game-winning shot, splashing a three-pointer to put Arkansas ahead 84-82 with 38 seconds remaining in OT.
He finished second on the Razorbacks with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including two made triples, and tied for the team lead with nine rebounds.
Mark Mitchell put together one last team-leading performance in front of the home crowd, paving the way for MU to get into the game with 32 points, his most in a Tigers uniform, alongside four rebounds and four assists.
His three-pointer with just under six minutes remaining in the opening half snapped the Tigers’ 0-for-6 start from beyond the arc. It was also the opening salvo in Mizzou’s 19-7 outburst to close out the first half, cutting the team’s deficit to just three points at the break.
MU completed its long battle back early in the second half with a 9-0 run that culminated in an alley-oop from Mitchell to Shawn Phillips Jr., prompting John Calipari to call timeout as the Tigers took their first lead of the day, 45-44.
Jayden Stone extended the streak to 11 unanswered points after the timeout before Thomas broke up the run with two made free throws.
Stone came on strong for Mizzou in the middle of the second half, scoring eight points after a slow start to the contest and giving the Tigers some much-needed production from the guard position.
T.O. Barrett and Anthony Robinson II combined for 15 points and seven assists, struggling at times against an Arkansas backcourt missing its best player in Darius Acuff Jr.
Thomas, the other usual half of the Razorback’s guard duo, helped fill the scoring void left by Acuff’s absence with 28 points and added seven rebounds.
Following the first 24 minutes where one of the teams clearly held the momentum, the two sides settled into a back-and-forth that lasted the remainder of the game.
The lead changed hands 12 times throughout the contest, including seven times across the final five minutes of regulation and overtime.
Malique Ewin sealed the win for Arkansas with four clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds and secured a key offensive rebound after D.J. Wagner missed both of his shots from the line. MU trailed by just two at the time and would have had a chance to tie it up or go for the victory.
Mizzou closes out the regular season 20-11 with a 10-8 mark in the SEC, a record that leaves the Tigers looking for one more win in the SEC Tournament to feel comfortable about securing a bid on Selection Sunday.
Now, MU awaits the rest of the conference slate to determine its seeding for the conference tournament in Nashville.
