Missouri was cursed again on another Kansas University Senior Day.
For the second consecutive year, the Tigers ended their regular season losing at Allen Fieldhouse.
| Missouri | 31 | 28 | 59 |
| Kansas | 30 | 45 | 75 |
Attendance: 16,300
KU pulled away in the second half to capture a 75-59 victory over Missouri on Sunday.
Shoddy shooting, especially in the second half while being outscored 45-28, led to Missouri’s demise this time. MU (18-11 overall, 9-7 Big 12) hit 32.1 percent of its shots (18-for-56).
“We took some bad shots in the second half,” MU coach Quin Snyder said. “But I do think both teams played very tough defensively.
“We were right in the game the first half, but we made a few mistakes and took a few quick shots toward the end of the half,” added Snyder, saddled with a severe case of the flu.
“Kansas played terrific in the second half. They played great defense in the post and really spread the floor well. Once they got it down inside we couldn’t stop them. We also had a lot of unforced errors today and they cost us as well.”
MU, which led 31-30 at halftime, hit 24 percent from the field (6-for-25) and made just four of 14 threes the final half.
“Their big men were getting offensive rebounds,” said Wesley Stokes, a 5-10 guard. “And we kept trying to get inside to score, but we couldn’t get it. Then they started hitting free throws, and it just built up from there.”
Junior Clarence Gilbert sparked the Tigers in the second half when he hit three of seven three-point attempts.
“They were tough and wanted it more than we did,” Gilbert said. “They were too big and too strong down low for us.”
MU’s Kareem Rush, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., was limited to 15 minutes while playing with a bandaged left thumb on his shooting hand. Rush, who missed seven games because of the injury, scored two points on 1-for-7 shooting. He had erupted for 27 points in the Tigers’ 75-66 win over KU on Jan. 29 in Columbia, Mo.
“With my dominant hand gone, I didn’t go out there to score 21 tonight,” Rush said. “I just wanted to help my team.”
Gilbert (19 points) and freshman Rickey Paulding (16) were the lone Tigers in double figures.
“It was good to get Kareem back,” Snyder said. “He looked uncomfortable when he released his shots though. I’m sure he wasn’t happy with his results. Rickey really stepped up for us though.”
MU senior Brian Grawer said he was glad Rush was back heading into postseason.
“It’s nice having Kareem back,” Grawer said. “He can still do a lot of the things he was doing before. But we need to step up a notch and start working together.”
Three-point goals: 8-23 (Gilbert 5-11, Paulding 1-2, Stokes 1-1, Grawer 1-7, Gage 0-1, Rush 0-1). Assists: 8 (Grawer 3, Soyoye, Johnson, Gilbert, Stokes, Bryant). Turnovers: 21 (Soyoye 5, Johnson 3, Rush 3, Gilbert 2, Grawer 2, Bryant 2, Paulding, Gage). Blocked shots: 4 (Johnson 3, Paulding). Steals: 5 (Soyoye, Johnson, Gilbert, Bryant, Rush). |
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Three-point goals: 1-13 (Hinrich 1-3, Chenowith 0-1, Gregory 0-2, Boschee 0-6). Assists: 15 (Collison 4, Hinrich 4, Gregory 3, Boschee 3, Gooden). Turnovers: 14 (Collison 4, Hinrich 4, Gooden 2, Gregory, Boschee). Blocked shots: 4 (Collison 2, Chenowith 2). Steals: 5 (Boschee 2, Gregory, Chenowith, Gooden). |
