Mizzou loses South Carolina rematch, SEC skid swells to seven games
COLUMBIA, S.C. (KMIZ)
With seven SEC games in the books, Mizzou Men's Basketball is still winless in conference play. South Carolina completed a regular season sweep of the Tigers with a 72-64 win at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday afternoon.
These two teams had played just two weeks ago at Mizzou Arena. Dennis Gates' crew fell to South Carolina 71-69 in overtime back on Jan. 13. The Gamecocks defeated the Tigers more convincingly in the rematch, handing Mizzou its 10th loss in its last 11 games. MU's last victory was on Dec. 30 against Central Arkansas.
After Mizzou started the game with back-to-back layups from Tamar Bates and Jesus Carralero Martin, South Carolina took control. The Gamecocks grabbed their first lead on a layup from B.J. Mack, which was part of an 8-0 South Carolina scoring run. The home team held the lead for the rest of the first half, mounting a deficit as large as 14 points for the Tigers.
However, Mizzou stormed back to start the second half. The Tigers strung together an 11-0 scoring run, giving the visitors a 40-39 advantage with 16:51 left in the game. Once South Carolina retook the lead on a jump shot from Mack just one possession later, Mizzou did not grab another lead in the contest.
While the Tigers posted a higher shooting percentage and more rebounds than the Gamecocks in this game, Mizzou struggled from three-point range, making just two of its eight triples. Gates' team also had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, recording just 10 assists to its 12 turnovers.
Bates and Sean East were responsible for 37 of Mizzou's 64 points in the contest. East finished with a team-high 21 points, and Bates dropped 16 points of his own. East was also the only Tiger to post more than one assist.
Up next - Mizzou returns home after its two-game road trip, looking to capture its first SEC win this season. The Tigers will face Arkansas at Mizzou Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
