Washington D.C. is one of America’s most prominent melting pots. High diversity exists in the city’s people, food and other major aspects.
15 minutes north of the U.S. Capitol, high diversity existed in Mizzou
men’s basketball’s 88-67 victory over Howard. All nine players who saw the floor scored, and Shawn Phillips II led the way with 16 points.
Howard lingered for a bit, as an 11-2 Bison run brought the home team within nine with 12:31 left in the second half. Bryce Harris and Alex Cotton, who led HU with 27 and 20 points, respectively, were lighting up the Tigers during the surge. But out of a timeout, Jacob Crews knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer, and Mizzou’s lead didn’t dip below double-digits the rest of the way.
Phillps II was the star of the show, dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. He was an efficient 8-of-9 from the floor, as he resembled a black hole around the rim: whenever the ball ended up in his vicinity near the basket, the end result was almost always two points. He also proved to be an explosive lob threat from the dunker’s spot, which Mizzou hasn’t had at the level Phillips was playing at on Monday. He also tallied 11 rebounds to secure a double-double.
The Tigers dominated the Bison on the glass, winning the rebound battle 48-27. Jevon Porter and Mark Mitchell had four offensive rebounds apiece, while T.O. Barrett had three.
Mizzou was efficient from 3-point range, canning 10-of-19 attempts. Similar to the scrimmage against Kansas State, Jayden Stone was MU’s best 3-point shooter, although he was more efficient this time around (10-of-19 from beyond the arc). But the Tigers often opted to attack the basket, with Mark Mitchell and Sebastian Mack being the primary beneficiaries of doing so. Mizzou scored 46 points in the paint, 30 more than Howard.
One major problem area rested in free throws, both in attempts and conversions. Normally elite at getting to the charity stripe, the Tigers attempted just 21 free throws and made only 10 of them. In other problem areas, Mizzou committed 16 turnovers, while Mitchell and Anthony Robinson II picked up four fouls apiece.
The Tigers were far from perfect on Monday night, but they didn’t need to be. They’ll return home to host SEMO on Friday.
