Mizzou senior Sean East drives past SIUE’s Shamar Wright in Monday’s NCAA men’s basketball game at Mizzou Arena. (Photo: Terrance Williams)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIU-Edwardsville (1-2) | 31 | 19 | 50 |
| Missouri (2-1) | 38 | 30 | 68 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
COLUMBIA, MO — Coming off a loss against Memphis three days ago, in which it had a dismal shooting second half, the University of Missouri men’s basketball team flipped the script against SIU-Edwardsville to earn a 68-50 win, Monday night at Mizzou Arena.
The Tigers led by seven points at halftime, then held the visiting Cougars to just three made shots in the second half to storm away for the victory. During one incredible stretch, Missouri’s defense held SIUE’s offense without a made shot for more than 16 minutes of game action.
“I thought our guys dug in and made them work for everything,” Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates said. “We did a much better job of making them take tough shots and defending every shot in the second half. And we got that from every guy. I was happy to see that.”
Mizzou’s defense forced SIUE to go 1-21 in the first 18:29 of the second half, which allowed the Tigers to turn a nice lead into gaping lead, which led to a comfortable victory.
Seniors Sean East and Noah Carter led the Missouri offense. East had 20 points on eight-of-11 shooting, making him the first Mizzou player to lead the team in scoring in the team’s first three games since DeMarre Carroll did it in 2007. And Carter added 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
“I’m still figuring everything out,” East said. “We’re three games in, so I mean, it’s gonna be a long season. I don’t know how many games we’ve got, but we just take it game-by-game. And you know, the roles are gonna change, things are gonna be different every game. Whatever the game requires for us to do is what are we going to try to do. I mean, it’s fun right now. We’re just enjoying it and you know, just trying to have fun out there.”
Carter, who was also celebrating his 23rd birthday, helped Missouri take control early, when he banged home three straight three-pointers in a span of 80 seconds that gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish.
“You know, Sean and I are fifth-year guys, this isn’t our first rodeo,” Carter said. “So just being able to kind of be going into the season and kind of get a flow, really understand the team, I’m very happy with what’s going on. I’m really looking forward toward the future and looking forward to continuing to grow, continuing to be better, continue to learn. And I’m very excited for what’s to come.”
Missouri shot 43.4 percent from the field, including an efficient 37.9 percent from deep, while also knocking down 11-of-14 free throw attempts. SIUE shot just 28.0 percent from the field, including 12.5 percent in the second half, but did convert 18-of-25 from the charity stripe.
The Tigers will have a couple of days off before heading out for their first road game of the season, this Thursday, when they’ll travel north to take on Minnesota. That game will tip off from Minnesota’s Williams Arena at 8 p.m., and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
SIU-Edwardville 50
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Minor,Damarco | * | 35 | 5-16 | 0-1 | 4-5 | 1-9 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 55 | Wright,Lamar | * | 37 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 03 | Taylor,Ray’Sean | * | 30 | 2-9 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 42 | Wright,Shamar | * | 31 | 0-6 | 0-3 | 5-6 | 3-2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 | Thompson,Terrance | * | 26 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Taylor,Brian | 22 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| 12 | Yancy,Ethan | 3 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 06 | Pickett,Jordan | 11 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | Sakenis,Arnas | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 14-50 | 4-15 | 18-25 | 10-23 | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 50 |
Missouri 68
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | East II, Sean | * | 33 | 8-11 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| 35 | Carter, Noah | * | 28 | 5-12 | 4-9 | 1-2 | 1-9 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| 31 | Grill, Caleb | * | 22 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 10 | Honor, Nick | * | 22 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 05 | Tonje, John | * | 19 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 23 | Shaw, Aidan | 13 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| 02 | Bates, Tamar | 19 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 14 | Robinson II, Anthony | 19 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 5-6 | 2-1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |
| 00 | Butler, Jordan | 15 | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 04 | Lewis, Curt | 8 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 11 | Pierce, Trent | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4-2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-53 | 11-29 | 11-14 | 8-29 | 37 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 68 |
2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 16, 2023 (Thursday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. |  |
| November 19, 2023 (Sunday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Jackson State | Mizzou Arena |  |
| November 22, 2023 (Wednesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | South Carolina State | Mizzou Arena | |
| November 25, 2023 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Loyola | Mizzou Arena | |
| November 28, 2023 (Tuesday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pa. |  |
| December 3, 2023 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Wichita State | Mizzou Arena |  |
| December 9, 2023 (Saturday) | 4:15 p.m. | Away | Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. |  |
| December 17, 2023 (Sunday) | 4 p.m. | T-Mobile Center | Seton Hall | Kansas City, Mo. | |
| December 22, 2023 (Friday) | 8 p.m. | Enterprise Center | Illinois | St. Louis, Mo. |  |
| December 30, 2023 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Central Arkansas | Mizzou Arena |  |
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon | Home | Georgia | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 9, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Kentucky | Lexington, Ky. | |
| January 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Home | South Carolina | Mizzou Arena | |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | |
| January 20, 2024 (Saturday) | TBA | Home | Florida | Mizzou Arena | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| January 23, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Texas A&M | College Station, Texas | |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | Noon CT | Away | South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | |
| January 31, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Arkansas | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 2:30 p.m. | Away | Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tenn. | |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Texas A&M | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Mississippi State | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 17, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. | |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Tennessee | Mizzou Arena | |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Away | Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark. | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Away | Florida | Gainesville, Fla. | |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Ole Miss | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Home | Auburn | Mizzou Arena | |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | LSU | Baton Rouge, La. | |
| March 13-17, 2024 (Wednesday) | TBA | Bridgestone Arena | SEC Tournament | Nashville, Tenn. |