Mizzou hangs on for SEC Tournament win over Mississippi State, advances to quarterfinals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ)
Mizzou hoops' three-game losing streak came to a close in the form of an SEC Tournament win, on Thursday night. The Tigers hung on for a tough win over Mississippi State, 85-73 to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Mizzou and Mississippi State stayed pretty evenly matched in the opening minutes of Thursday night's action, but a 10-0 run for the Tigers about eight minutes into the game gave them a six-point lead over the Bulldogs. However, as was the story of the game, Mississippi State always managed to respond. Right after those 10 unanswered points, the Bulldogs went on a run of their own.
Over the course of three minutes, head coach Chris Jans' team went on a 7-0 run to force a Mizzou timeout, as the Bulldogs cut their deficit to just one point. During that run, turnovers were detrimental for head coach Dennis Gates' team. The group turned the ball over six times in 11 possessions, as Mississippi State never went away.
With a tie game on hand just seconds before halftime, Mizzou put together two good possessions to take a lead into the locker room. A Tamar Bates one-handed slam and Caleb Grill catch-and-shoot three put MU up by five at the break.
You can watch the full postgame interviews with Bates and Grill in the video player below.
Out of the locker room, though, Mizzou added to the nine first half turnovers it committed with a costly one to start the second half. The Bulldogs took one away on a lob attempt to Josh Gray and managed to score a 3-pointer to make it two-point ball game at Bridgestone Arena. In total, the Tigers lost the ball 13 times to Mississippi State.
You can watch the full postgame interviews with forward Aidan Shaw and guard Anthony Robinson in the video players below.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs stayed neck-and-neck the remainder of the game.
The duo of Josh Hubbard and Keshawn Murphy posed a massive problem for Gates' team. The pair combined for 42 points, on Thursday night.
However, Bates and Tony Perkins gave Hail State some problems of their own. Bates ended up with the team-high 21 points, while Perkins was right behind him with 19 points, which matched his season-best total.
It went down to the absolute wire, but Gates' team managed to hang on for the gritty postseason win.
Up next - No. 7-seeded Mizzou will meet No. 3-seeded Florida in quarterfinal action. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
