Missouri men’s basketball kept its foot on the gas pedal for most of its game Monday Night against Prairie View A&M, winning 91-73.
The Tigers powered the comfortable victory with another strong offensive
performance. The win marked the second time this season that Dennis Gates’ squad has eclipsed 90 points.
MU spread the love on offense as six players reached the double-digit scoring mark. Jacob Crews led the way with another excellent shooting night, putting up 20 points on a 7-of-10 shooting mark and splashing four of hit five shots from beyond the arc.
Mizzou led by a comfortable margin for most of the contest and controlled the battle of the boards as expected with a 49-28 advantage in rebounds.
Offensive struggles held the Tigers back early, keeping the game within three points at the 13:44 mark in the opening half. Jevon Porter was the only Mizzou player to find a rhythm scoring the ball and tallied eight of the team’s first 10 points, including two triples.
But MU soon found its mojo on offense, using a 20-2 run to take a 28-12 lead. That advantage extended to 24 points after another run, this one 7-0, with just over four minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Tigers seized control of the game with smooth shooting and a suffocating defensive effort. Mizzou shot 56 percent from the field in the first half and went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc while holding the Panthers to a 33 percent shooting mark.
MU’s defense limited Prairie View A&M to just 12 points over the first 13 minutes of the game and 5-of-21 shooting from the field, but a late offensive jolt from the Panthers made the score 49-27 after the opening 20 minutes.
The Tigers entered a brief lull out of the half, allowing Prairie View A&M to keep its deficit around 20 points, but a 13-0 run pushed Mizzou’s lead into true blowout territory. MU held the visitors scoreless for nearly four minutes, building a 69-39 lead in the process.
Fouls and turnovers piled up over the game’s final minutes, cutting the Tigers’ final margin of victory to 18 points. The win moves Mizzou to 5-0 on the season and gives the team three consecutive victories by more than 15 points.
Next up for the Tigers: a matchup with South Dakota in Columbia this Thursday. That game will tip off at 7 p.m. and stream on SEC Network+.
