Mizzou’s Sean East looks for an open spot to shoot during Saturday’s NCAA men’s basketball game against South Carolina. (Photo courtesy: Mizzou Athletics)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri (8-12, 0-7) | 29 | 35 | 64 |
| South Carolina (17-3, 5-2) | 39 | 33 | 72 |
Terrance Williams
Staff Writer
COLUMBIA, SC — Sean East scored 21 points and dished out seven assists to lead the University of Missouri men’s basketball on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough South Carolina hit a season-high 10 three-pointers and four players score in double-figures to pull out a 72-64 win over the Tigers at Colonial Life Arena.
Missouri came into the game still looking for its first SEC win of the season and grabbed the lead early in the second half, thanks to an 11-0 run coming out of the halftime break that gave the Tigers a 40-39 lead with 16:50 left in the game.
That forced South Carolina to call timeout and regroup. The Gamecocks came out and immediately got a three-point play from B.J. Mack that gave the home team back the lead. South Carolina didn’t trail again.
Missouri tied the game twice, but could never get completely over the hump to re-take the lead themselves. South Carolina hit a pair of back-to-back threes to go ahead 53-46 with 12 minutes to go. Missouri never got closer than five points after that.
East’s 21 points marked the seventh time this season he scored at least 20 points in a game. He’d only done that twice in the 90 games he played in prior to this season.
Tamar Bates had 16 points for the Tigers, it was the 10th straight game that he’d scored in double figures.
A true difference in the ball game was three-point shooting. Mizzou hit just two from long-range, the lowest for the Tigers in any game this season. Matched with South Carolina’s season-high 10, it was easy to see why the Gamecocks were able to close out the win.
Missouri is now 8-12 on the season and 0-7 in SEC play. South Carolina, which is coming off a stirring win over No. 6 Kentucky on Wednesday, is now 17-3 overall and 5-2 in league play this year.
The Tigers will take another shot at getting its first conference win on Wednesday, when they’ll host Arkansas at Mizzou Arena. Tip off that night is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.
Missouri 64
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | East II, Sean | * | 39 | 7-11 | 0-2 | 7-7 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| 02 | Bates, Tamar | * | 34 | 8-14 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| 10 | Honor, Nick | * | 34 | 3-6 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 00 | Butler, Jordan | * | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Carralero Martin, Jesus | * | 9 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 35 | Carter, Noah | 28 | 3-10 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 75 | Vanover, Connor | 18 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 2-5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 23 | Shaw, Aidan | 9 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 04 | Lewis, Curt | 16 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 24-51 | 2-8 | 14-17 | 5-24 | 29 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 64 |
South Carolina 72
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 | Mack,B.J. | * | 26 | 6-11 | 2-5 | 7-11 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| 55 | Cooper,Ta’lon | * | 36 | 4-5 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 30 | Murray-Boyles,Collin | * | 31 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1-7 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 12 | Davis,Zachary | * | 26 | 2-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 05 | Johnson,Meechie | * | 24 | 0-9 | 0-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 01 | Wright,Jacobi | 26 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 3-4 | 0-4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 15 | Ugusuk,Morris | 11 | 3-3 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| 33 | Gray,Josh | 13 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 04 | Clark,Stephen | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 23-52 | 10-25 | 16-24 | 6-22 | 28 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 72 |
2023-24 Mizzou Tigers Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | #5 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. |