Mizzou hoops snaps two-game skid with win over Alabama State

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou men's basketball team made its return to the win column, on Thursday night.

Head coach Dennis Gates and his team rode its best shooting performance since mid-November straight to the bank for a 85-77 win over the Hornets at Mizzou Arena.

You can watch extended highlights from Mizzou's victory in the vide player below.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 9-2 on the season and snapped a two-game losing streak.

"Being able to be 9-2 is definitely something that's exciting for our program," said Gates. "We would like to be undefeated, but understand you're not going to win every game. So winning the lessons, being able to understand what you need to continue to get better."

You can watch the full postgame press conference with Gates and players in the video player below.

After averaging 39 percent shooting from the field in losses to Notre Dame and Kansas the week prior, the Tigers shot at a 64 percent clip from the floor, in Thursday's victory. Four players got into double-digit scoring, with Jacobs Crews leading the charge with 20 points in his first start of the season .He finished just two shy of matching his season-high.

"Coming off the bench, I still played great minutes, and was an energy piece coming off the bench," said Crews. "I just brought the same approach to starting. I'm grateful for starting, I'm grateful to be able to hear my name called at the beginning and get to have that adrenaline rush from there."

Anthony Robinson (19), Mark Mitchell (15) and Sebastian Mack (10) also joined Crews in the double-figures club.

"I'm not trying to worry about any missed shots or what's happened," said Robinson. "Just being aggressive every play, that's what I'm taking away from that."

Mizzou also had one of its most accurate performances from 3-point range, so far this season. The Tigers shot 50 percent from beyond the arc, draining eight triples.

The Hornets did manage to stay within striking distance at multiple points in their loss at Mizzou Arena. In fact, guard Asjon Anderson gave the Tigers a bit of trouble, with a game-best 23 points, including five 3-pointers.

Up next - Gates and company will stay home to host Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, Dec. 14. Tip off is slated for 1 p.m.