J. Porter leads Mizzou past Vanderbilt on the road

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jontay Porter scored a career-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and Missouri ended its three-game losing streak with a 74-66 win at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.

Porter hit 9 of 10 from the floor, including all four of his 3-point attempts. The 6-foot-11 freshman enjoyed a strong overall game with seven rebounds and six assists.

Jordan Barnett added Barnett added 17 points for the Tigers (19-11, 9-8 Southeastern Conference), who spoiled the Commodores’ home finale.

Missouri shot 58 percent from the field, making 26 of 45 and was 12 of 22 from 3-point range.

Senior Jeff Roberson led last-place Vanderbilt (11-19, 5-12) with 19 points in his final game at Memorial Gym.

Fellow senior Riley LaChance exited with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Both players received standing ovations from the crowd of 8,812 when leaving the court during the final seconds.

The Tigers outscored the Commodores 44-34 in the second half while shooting 65 percent from the floor.

Vanderbilt made 8 of its first 15 shots from 3-point range to take a 32-30 halftime lead.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers improved their NCAA Tournament credentials with an SEC road win.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores lost their third straight game.

PORTER JR. STILL OUT

Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr., out since back surgery in November, warmed up with the Tigers, but didn’t play against Vanderbilt. He was cleared to practice Thursday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The 6-10 forward was named to the Associated Press preseason All-America team and he was the SEC preseason Co-Player of the Year. He was the nation’s top overall recruit out of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle.

HONORARY START

Vanderbilt senior Matthew Fisher-Davis, out with a season-ending shoulder injury, made his final start at Memorial Gym.

The Commodores fouled immediately to get him out of the game safely. Fisher-Davis ranks sixth in school history with 269 career 3-pointers and he scored 1,219 career points.

UP NEXT

Missouri hosts Arkansas in its regular-season finale Saturday. The Razorbacks entered Tuesday’s games as the SEC’s second-highest scoring team (82.2 ppg).

Vanderbilt ends its season at Ole Miss (12-17) on Saturday. The Commodores are 0-10 in road games.