Mizzou loses second half lead, suffers loss at Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ)
No. 4 Tennessee's sharp shooting has ended No. 15 Mizzou's winning streak against ranked opponents.
The Volunteers (19-4) shot 50% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range to erase MU's 11-point second half advantage and hand the Tigers (17-5) a 85-81 loss at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Wednesday's defeat marked Mizzou's third loss of SEC play but the Tigers remain in third place in the conference standings. Currently, head coach Dennis Gates' group is in a three-way tie with Florida and Texas A&M for the No. 3 spot in the SEC.
After the opening tipoff, it took the Tigers some time to find a rhythm on offense. MU did not hit a field goal for the first five minutes of the game, resulting in a 5-0 deficit at the first media timeout.
However, Mizzou's defensive pressure kept Tennessee from capitalizing on that slow stretch and allowed them to take control of the first half. MU forced eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes, highlighted by four combined steals from Anthony Robinson II and Caleb Grill.
Tony Perkins supplied a spark at the 14:47-mark with his first three-pointer of the game. From there, Perkins lifted the Tigers to six-point lead by scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points. The Iowa transfer ended that 13-2 scoring run with his third three-pointer in roughly three minutes.
Mizzou maintained the lead for the remainder of the first half and held a 34-28 advantage at halftime, propelled by Perkins and Marques Warrick, who each posted flawless shooting percentages in the first 20 minutes. Perkins was 4-for-4 in the first half while Warrick was 3-for-3 on his shot attempts.
MU gained a double-digit advantage with a three-pointer from Tamar Bates at the 17:38-mark of the second half, but Tennessee rallied to erase Mizzou's lead. The Volunteers used an 18-5 scoring run to grab their first lead since the 13:12-mark of the opening half. Tennessee's dominant stretch featured three consecutive triples on three straight possessions and just one field goal from MU over a three-minute period.
The Tigers trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half after Tennessee's scoring run but tried to mount a late comeback with less than five minutes left on the clock. MU got within four points of tying the contest with a 9-1 scoring run. However, Tennessee was able to nail down the win from the charity stripe.
Bates ended the game as Mizzou's leading scorer with a stellar second half. The Kansas City native posted 22 points in the final 20 minutes and was 6-for-10 from the field during that span
Perkins finished with 16 points while Caleb Grill tallied 11 points, representing two of the three players who reached double figures for the Tigers. However, 11 different Mizzou Tigers scored at least one point in the contest.
Mizzou did dominate the turnover margin, turning the ball over just three times to Tennessee's 11 takeaways. Despite the Tigers shooting 42% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc, the Volunteers' exceptional shooting was just too much to overcome.
Up next - MU ends its stretch of four straight games against top-16 opponents with a battle against No. 10 Texas A&M inside Mizzou Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2:30 p.m.
