Mizzou men’s basketball survived an upset bid from SEMO Friday night, sweating out an 89-84 victory in its home-opener.
The win maintains the Tigers’ all-time undefeated record against their in-state opponent,
a mark that now sits at 10-0.
The two sides traded the lead late into the game until Mark Mitchell converted an and-one opportunity off a transition layup with 3:10 remaining in the contest, putting the Tigers ahead 79-76.
Mitchell was key in the final half, also leading a 12-0 run by Mizzou early in the second that allowed MU to take a 59-58 lead with 14:06 remaining in the game.
The senior paced the Tigers with 29 points, going 12-14 from the field but struggling all game from the free throw line.
Mizzou’s defense ratcheted up the pressure in the the second, forcing five Redhawks turnovers compared to just one by the Tigers over the first nine minutes after halftime.
An efficient shooting night lifted Mizzou to the win. The team shot 59.3 percent from the field and was 6-15 from the three-point line.
That allowed the Tigers to overcome a sluggish start to their night.
SEMO took a 51-46 advantage into the half, helped by many of the same issues that arose in Mizzou’s home opener against Howard.
The Redhawks scored 10 of the points off nine Tigers turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, and Dennis Gates’ squad again struggled from the free throw line. The team went 3-10 from the charity stripe in the first half, including an 0-4 effort from Mark Mitchell.
Brad Korn’s squad also took advantage of a porous Mizzou defense, shooting 59 percent from the field and going five of 12 from beyond the arc to surpass the half-century mark. SEMO hit eight of its final 10 field goals in the opening half, a streak that overlapped with a 9-0 Redhawks run to give the team its first lead of the contest with 5:10 remaining in the first.
But the Tigers secured the last word, forcing SEMO to try and foul their way out of the deficit. The strategy failed as Mizzou went 14-16 from the charity stripe down the stretch.
The victory moves the Tigers to 2-0 on the season and extends their winning streak in home openers to 11 games.
Mizzou will look to cap the opening week of the season with a win Sunday against VMI. The action tips off at 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.
