With 16 minutes to go in the second half, Trent Pierce drilled a three-point basket that had Mizzou Arena on its feet Wednesday night. It extended a Tiger lead to 11 points and they never looked back, minus a rocky final two minutes. The team pushed to an 81-80 win and sent the top-20 Commodores packing.
On the next possession, Jayden Stone also connected from beyond the arc and the sound barrier in the building seemed to shatter. That was until the sweet sounds of Mr. Brightside came over the loudspeakers.
Missouri was rolling and everyone was clicking. Mark Mitchell was connecting from three and Trent Burns was adding points next to his name on the sheet. With help all across the board, the Tigers defeated its second ranked opponent this season.
Missouri remains undefeated all-time at Mizzou arena with a 9-0 advantage. Vanderbilt Head Coach Mark Byington was quick to open his press conference saying that it’s tough to win in this building when you play out of character.
In the final two minutes of play, the Commodores seemed to figure it out.
“We finally scored,” said Byington.
Shots were falling for the Dores and Mizzou couldn’t keep two hands on the basketball. A 21-point lead soon dwindled down to just one and the anxiety was palpable.
“I thought our pace was better on offense, but the steals and turnovers obviously helped out to be able to make a comeback,” said Byington.
That 80’s magic is real though and with seven seconds Mitchell inbounded the ball to T.O. Barrett who put the game away with a pair of free throws. A final Vanderbilt hail mary clanged off the rim and a breath of relief was felt around the arena.
“Yes, we were up 20,“ said Mizzou Head Coach Dennis Gates. ”Who in here did not watch the Oklahoma-Vanderbilt game? We knew they would make a run, and our guys, they may have bent a little bit, but we did not break. That’s a sign of a great team.“
Led by Jayden Stone, the Tigers looked complete offensively for the other 38 minutes. After starting neck and neck with the Commodores, the team was able to pull away with help from perimeter shooting.
By the conclusion of the game, Stone set a season-high record with four three’s recorded.
Entering today, Vanderbilt boasted the conference’s best mark for three-point defense, limiting its opponents to just a 29.5% success rate. The Tigers sunk its claws in and tore that defense apart, shooting 50%. For Mizzou, its the best the team has shot from beyond-the-arc since early December.
Stone also explored the paint to bring in points for the home team. In the first half, the guard gave the Tigers its first lead of the day after a three-point play. He ended the night with 19 points.
Overall, five Tigers ended the night with in the double digits.
The achievement was aided by Mizzou’s aggressiveness in the paint. Reaching the line for 32 attempts, the team knocked down 25 which was an 11-point advantage over Vanderbilt. The Dores also committed two flagrant fouls.
The home team also forced 11 turnovers and collected 18 points off of them.
Barrett found himself at the charity stripe most frequently with eight points stemming from the foul line. Number 5 collected 16 points in effort to continue his recent offensive streak. He now has scored at least 10 points in eight of his last ten games.
Also having a night to remember was Trent Pierce. A seemingly quiet 16 points, the junior, and team captain, kept the team moving in the final stages. It was a much needed response after a lackluster showing agains the Texas Longhorns.
As March looms closer, the Tigers chances still hang in the balance of its five remaining games. Tonight, and probably the rest of the month, the only song playing in my head will be “Girl in the Bubble” from Wicked as I watch Mizzou take hold of the opportunity. Joe Lunardi…your thoughts on the cardiac affair?