Missouri Basketball Head Coach Frank Haith announced on Tuesday that freshmen guards Dominique Bull (Worcester, Mass.) and Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough, Ontario) will transfer out of the program.

Both student-athletes expressed an interest in more playing time and an ability to play closer to home as the reason for the transfer.

“Dominique and Negus were great representatives of our program and I want to thank them for their contributions both on and off the basketball court,” Haith said. “We will certainly do anything we can to help them as they begin the recruiting process, and wish them nothing but the best moving forward.”

A 6-foot-7 combo guard from Scarborough, Ontario, Webster-Chan averaged 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 32 games this season. He made six starts and hit 16-of-59 shots from three-point range.

“I appreciate everyone at Missouri and want to thank Coach Haith and the staff for giving me this opportunity,” Webster-Chan said. “I just want to find a style that is more suited for me, but I wish Mizzou the best of luck in the future and I’m grateful to the Tiger community for their support over the past year.”

Bull scored his first career point in Missouri’s win over Arkansas and played in nine games while averaging 1.6 minutes a contest. The 6-foot-4 guard grabbed a season high two rebounds in the win over South Carolina State and played three minutes in the win at Mississippi State.

“I want to thank everyone at Mizzou including Coach Haith, the coaching staff and my teammates for their support over the past year,” Bull said. “I enjoyed my time as a Missouri Tiger, but wanted to expand my role on the court and hopefully do it in a situation that’s closer to my family.”

— MU Sports Information —

Dorian Green scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half and eighth-seeded Colorado State used good shooting and great rebounding to run away from No. 9 Missouri 84-72 Thursday night in the NCAA tournament.

Green, who went scoreless with five turnovers in last year’s second-round upset to Murray State, did much better this time as the Rams shot nearly 58 percent in the first half.

Minnesota transfer and Rams big man Colton Iverson outrebounded Missouri by himself through 27 minutes and finished with 13 boards.

First-year Rams coach Larry Eustachy earned the victory with his fourth tournament team, but the road gets tougher as they advance to face top-seeded Louisville in Saturday’s third-round Midwest Regional game at Rupp Arena.

Phil Pressey’s 20 points led the Tigers (23-11).

Greg Smith and Jon Octeus each added 12 points while Wes Eikmeier added 11 for Colorado State (26-8), which was rarely threatened by Missouri.

The lopsided outcome was surprising considering the teams’ similarities that made this an intriguing matchup.

Besides balanced offenses with at least four starters averaging in double figures, Colorado State and Missouri also have thrived on the glass. The Rams entered the game with a rebound margin of 12.1 per game, tops in the nation, with the Tigers third at 9.6.

Iverson averaged 14.7 points per game to key Colorado State’s return to the tournament along with Eustachy, who led Southern Mississippi here last year. The 6-foot-10 senior has been helped by Eikmeier (12.7 points) and Green (12.8 points) and Smith (11.1).

Missouri meanwhile featured one of the field’s most balanced offenses, with Laurence Bowers (14.4 points) leading five starters averaging at least 11 points per game. Pressey has been one of the Tigers’ most interesting stories, a talented guard who has tended to make mistakes in key moments.

That made for an entertaining first half that Colorado State led 47-38 by setting the offensive pace before falling into an end-to-end game more to Missouri’s liking.

The Rams shot 15 of 26 (58 percent) in the first half and seemed primed to run away from the Tigers. Green was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.

Missouri was 15 of 30 in the first 20 minutes with four 3-pointers.

Missouri closed to 49-45 early in the second half, but the Rams responded with a 17-4 surge for their biggest lead at 66-49 lead.

— Associated Press —

Derrick Millinghaus made a driving basket with 1.1 seconds left Friday as No. 3 seed Mississippi rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit to beat No. 6 seed Missouri 64-62 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Mississippi (24-8) advanced to a Saturday semifinal against No. 10 seed Vanderbilt (16-16), which upset No. 2 seed Kentucky 64-48. The Rebels also boosted their chances of earning their first NCAA tournament bid since 2002.

After Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson stole a Laurence Bowers inbounds pass at midcourt, the Rebels called timeout with 27 seconds remaining. Millinghaus drove into the lane and gave Mississippi its first lead since pulling ahead 11-10 with 12:34 left in the first half.

Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson scored 27 points, including 20 in the second half. Millinghaus scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Alex Oriakhi had 16 points, Phil Pressey scored 13 and Earnest Ross added 12 for Missouri (22-10).

Henderson’s fearless shooting and fiery attitude has thrilled Mississippi fans and irritated the Rebels’ opponents all season, and he was as polarizing as ever Friday. He taunted Missouri fans during the Tigers’ second-half meltdown and celebrated on the scorer’s table after the game.

Missouri led 42-28 early in the second half and still had a 13-point advantage with 13:24 remaining before Henderson led the Rebels on a furious comeback. Reginald Buckner’s dunk with 2:44 left capped a 10-1 run and tied the score at 57-57.

It went back and forth from there.

Missouri regained the lead on an Oriakhi putback with 2:21 left, but Henderson tied it again by hitting both ends of a one-and-one with 1:08 remaining. Pressey made a 3-pointer to put Missouri ahead 62-59 with 46.2 seconds left, but Millinghaus answered 17 seconds later with his own 3-pointer.

Bowers then threw an inbounds pass that appeared to be intended for Keion Bell, but Henderson intercepted it. That turnover allowed Millinghaus to complete Mississippi’s comeback, touching off a wild postgame celebration as the Rebels dove on the floor near midcourt.

Mississippi’s dramatic victory gave the Rebels’ NCAA tournament hopes a major lift on a day when other SEC bubble teams such as Tennessee and Kentucky lost.

Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy is the first Rebels coach ever to win 20 games in four straight seasons and the fifth coach in SEC history to reach the 20-win mark in six of his first seven seasons in the league. But the Rebels haven’t earned an NCAA bid during his tenure.

The Rebels seemed poised to break through this year when they raced to a 17-2 start that included a 6-0 mark in conference play, but they split their final 12 regular-season games. That late-season slide included losses to South Carolina (14-18) and Mississippi State (10-22).

— Associated Press —

Alex Oriakhi scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds Thursday night as No. 6 seed Missouri defeated cold-shooting No. 11 seed Texas A&M 62-50 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Texas A&M (18-15) shot a season-low 24.1 percent (14 of 58) in the first SEC tournament confrontation between these two former Big 12 rivals. Missouri (23-9) led from start to finish and earned a quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 seed Mississippi (23-8).

Missouri is seeking its second straight conference tournament title and third in the last five years. The Tigers won the Big 12 tournament in 2009 and 2012.

Laurence Bowers, Jabari Brown and Tony Criswell had 10 points each for Missouri. Fabyon Harris led Texas A&M with 15 points. Texas A&M star Elston Turner played with a broken left pinkie finger and scored seven points while shooting 3 of 17.

— Associated Press —

Missouri’s Phil Pressey and Laurence Bowers were named to the All-Southeastern Conference Team by the league coaches on Tuesday, with Pressey earning First Team accolades and Bowers being voted to the Second Team despite missing five of the first six league games due to injury.

Pressey leads the Southeastern Conference in assists this season and is on the cusp of breaking his own school record for single season dimes. Pressey is averaging a league-best 7.1 assists per game (No. 7 nationally) and has 221 dimes, needing just three more to surpass his 2011-12 total of 223.

Pressey’s 221 assists are already ninth in Southeastern Conference history and he is 39 assists shy of the all-time mark held by Sean Tuohy of Ole Miss in 1979-80. Tuohy is of course also well-known from to the Movie “The Blind Side” released in 2009. The junior is also just 14 assists short of the single-season top five in SEC history and Pressey has the most assists for an SEC player since John Wall dished 241 in 2009-10.

The Dallas native is also scoring and rebounding at a career rate this season. Pressey is third on the club with 11.9 points per game and his 3.4 rebounds per contest better the 3.3 he averaged last season.

He is already the career record holder for assists at Missouri with 561 and needs just five steals to surpass the career mark of 196 held by Anthony Peeler.

Pressey has topped 20 points in a game five times this season, including a 27-point, 10-assist double-double at Kentucky. He also turned in one of the nation’s more spectacular games at UCLA (Dec. 28) where he broke the school and Pauley Pavilion records with 19 points and 19 assists vs. the Bruins. The 19-points and 19 assists were the most by a high major college player since Mateen Cleaves (Michigan State) dished 20 in 2000 and it was the first 19 and 19 game since John Stockton with the Utah Jazz of the NBA in the 1990-91 season.

Bowers has earned a pair of awards from the league office over the past two days. In addition to being named a Second Team all-league performer, the Memphis, Tenn., native was named to the SEC Community Service Team for his efforts in the Columbia community and continues to be a shining example of the all-around student-athlete experience at Mizzou as he nears the completion of his Master’s degree this spring.

On the hardwood Bowers has definitely made up for lost time, finishing with three consecutive 20-point efforts in games against LSU, Arkansas and Tennessee. The forward leads the Tigers with seven 20-point games this season and is second with a career high seven double-doubles. He had back-to-back double-doubles down the stretch vs. LSU and Arkansas and he finished his home career with 24 points and 11 rebounds in a resounding 93-63 Senior Night win over Arkansas on March 5.

Bowers leads the SEC in field goal percentage (.558) and ranks seventh in scoring (14.8), No. 13 in rebounding (6.3) and is just outside the Top 10 in blocked shots.

Earlier this season Bowers scored his 1,000th career point in a win against South Carolina State and was named the National Player of the Week after a 23-point, 10-rebound performance in a Bud Light Braggin’ Rights win over No. 10 Illinois in St. Louis.

Bowers is currently 27th all-time at Mizzou in scoring with 1,222 points and joins Arthur Johnson as the lone Tigers ever to score 1,000 points and block 150 shots.

Missouri Basketball opens play at the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday night against the winner of the Texas A&M vs. Auburn contest. The Tigers will play at 9 p.m. CT on the SEC Network

First Team All-SEC

Trevor Releford, Alabama – G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.

Erik Murphy, Florida – F/C, 6-10, 238, Sr., South Kingstown, R.I.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia – G, 6-5, 205, So., Greenville, Ga.

Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.

Johnny O’Bryant III, LSU – F, 6-9, 256, So., Cleveland, Miss.

Phil Pressey, Missouri – G, 5-11, 175, Jr., Dallas, Texas

Jordan McRae, Tennessee – G, 6-5, 178, Jr., Midway, Ga.

Elston Turner, Texas A&M – G, 6-5, 209, Sr., Sacramento, Calif.

Second Team All-SEC

Marshawn Powell, Arkansas – F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Newport News, Va.

BJ Young, Arkansas – G, 6-3, 180, So, St. Louis, Mo.

Kenny Boynton, Florida – G, 6-2, 190, Sr., Pompano Beach, Fla.

^Mike Rosario, Florida – G, 6-3, 183, Sr., Jersey City, N.J.

^Patric Young, Florida – C, 6-9, 249, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.

Marshall Henderson, Ole Miss – G, 6-2, 175, Jr., Hurst, Texas

Murphy Holloway, Ole Miss – F, 6-7, 240, Sr., Irmo, S.C.

Laurence Bowers, Missouri – F, 6-8, 227, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.

Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee – F, 6-8, 270, So., Memphis, Tenn.

SEC All-Freshman Team

Michael Frazier II, Florida – G, 6-4, 200, Fr., Tampa, Fla.

Charles Mann, Georgia – G, 6-4, 205, Fr., Alpharetta, Ga.

^Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky – F, 7-0, 244, Fr., Olathe, Kan.

Archie Goodwin, Kentucky – G, 6-4.5, 198, Fr., Little Rock, Ark.

Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.

^Alex Poythress, Kentucky – F, 6-7, 239, Fr., Clarksville, Tenn.

Craig Sword, Mississippi State – G, 6-3, 189, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.

^Gavin Ware, Mississippi State – F, 6-9, 270, Fr., Starkville, Miss.

Michael Carrera, South Carolina – F, 6-5, 212, Fr., Anzoátegui, Venezuela

SEC All-Defensive Team

^Trevor Releford, Alabama – G, 6-1, 185, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.

Scottie Wilbekin, Florida – G, 6-2, 176, Jr., Gainesville, Fla.

^Patric Young, Florida – C, 6-9, 249, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.

Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.

Anthony Hickey, LSU – G, 5-11, 178, So., Hopkinsville, Ky.

Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss – F, 6-9, 235, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.

^-Ties are not broken

SEC Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan, Florida

SEC Player of the Year: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia

SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Patric Young, Florida

SEC Freshman of the Year: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Kyle Wiltjer, Kentucky

SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

— MU Sports Information —

Jordan McRae scored 15 points and Jarnell Stokes recorded a double-double Saturday as Tennessee rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit to beat Missouri 64-62 and boost its NCAA tournament hopes.

McRae, who had averaged 25.8 points in the six games leading up to this one, went scoreless in the first 18 1/2 minutes and didn’t make his first basket until 14:33 remained. But he heated up from there and scored seven points in an 11-0 run that put Tennessee ahead for good.

Stokes added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Tennessee (19-11, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) won for the eighth time in its last nine games. Trae Golden had 12 points and Josh Richardson added 11 points.

Laurence Bowers scored 20 points for Missouri (22-9, 11-7). Phil Pressey had 10 points and nine assists, but he was well off the mark on a 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with 12.6 seconds left.

After Pressey’s shot landed out of bounds, Golden made a pair of free throws to put Tennessee ahead 64-59 with 11 seconds remaining. Missouri’s Earnest Ross made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the final score.

This game continued Missouri’s recent road frustration. Missouri is 2-8 in true road games this season, but its last five road losses were decided by a total of 16 points, including a 90-83 overtime loss at Kentucky.

Missouri led this game 50-42 midway through the second half before Tennessee rallied. Tennessee pulled ahead for good 54-53 on McRae’s putback of a Stokes miss with 5:36 remaining.

It was only fitting that an offensive rebound produced the decisive basket. Missouri entered the day ranked second in the nation with 41.4 rebounds per game and leading the SEC in rebound margin (plus-10.1), but Tennessee outrebounded the Tigers 45-32.

That wasn’t the only surprise Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Tennessee forward Quinton Chievous, a bit player for most of the season, picked an appropriate time to play the best game of his young career.

Chievous’ father, former NBA first-round draft pick Derrick Chievous, racked up 2,580 points for Missouri from 1985-88 and remains the school’s all-time leading scorer. But the redshirt freshman had struggled to earn playing time and make an impact this season.

That all changed Saturday against his dad’s former team.

Chievous established career highs in points (seven), rebounds (five) and assists (two). He had seven points and four rebounds in the first half alone as Tennessee overcame Missouri’s sizzling start to forge a halftime tie.

Missouri grabbed an early 17-10 lead by making eight of its first 11 shots, but the Tigers cooled off after senior forwards Alex Oriakhi and Laurence Bowers got in foul trouble.

Bowers scored nine points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game before picking up his second foul and sitting out the rest of the first half. Missouri led 19-14 when Oriakhi joined Bowers on the bench after getting called for his second foul with 7:52 left until halftime.

Tennessee proceeded to go on a 12-2 run to grab a 26-21 lead. Missouri responded late in the first half and tied the game on Tony Criswell’s putback at the halftime buzzer.

The game would be tied four more times in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second half before Bowers sank a 3-pointer to put Missouri ahead 40-37 with 14:21 remaining. Bowers added a layup and a pair of free throws to spark a 6-0 run that gave Missouri a 50-42 advantage with 10:07 left.

That’s when McRae finally came to the rescue.

McRae stopped Missouri’s 6-0 run by sinking his first 3-pointer of the night. He made another 3-pointer to cut Missouri’s lead to 53-52 with 6:35 remaining. He converted an offensive rebound a minute later to put Tennessee back in front. And he capped an 11-0 spurt by making two free throws with 3:06 left.

— Associated Press —

Laurence Bowers had 24 points and 11 rebounds in his final home game, contributing to a rough evening for old coach Mike Anderson’s first appearance as a visitor and helping Missouri finish unbeaten at home with a 93-63 rout over Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Fellow senior Jabari Brown helped finish off the Razorbacks early with 13 of his 23 points in a dominant first half with the Tigers (22-8-11-6 SEC) leading 48-22. The third senior, Alex Oriakhi, had 10 points and eight rebounds and topped 1,000 career rebounds.

BJ Young had 27 points for Arkansas (18-12, 9-8), which shot just 31 percent in the first half while going 1 for 15 from 3-point range. The Razorbacks surrendered a season high in points.

Missouri finished 17-0 at home for its second unbeaten slate in five years. The Tigers shot 58 percent in the first half and 57 percent the rest of the way.

— Associated Press —

Laurence Bowers had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Oriakhi had 18 points, 10 boards and four blocks, helping Missouri bounce back from an awful start and stay perfect at home with an 87-76 victory over LSU on Saturday.

Phil Pressey added 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 SEC), who rallied from an early 13-point deficit and are 16-0 at Mizzou Arena. They’re just 2-7 on the road, including a three-point loss at LSU on Jan 31.

Anthony Hickey posted career bests with 22 points and six 3-pointers for LSU (17-10, 8-8), which matched its season best with 12 3-pointers but shot 42 percent overall compared with a season-best 55.6 percent in the first meeting. Charles Carmouche had 21 points, the fourth 20-plus outing in five games for the senior guard who averages 10.1 points.

— Associated Press —

Keion Bell scored 24 points and Jabari Brown added 23 to lead Missouri to a 90-68 win over South Carolina on Thursday night.

Missouri shot 69.6 percent (32 of 46) for the game, and plenty of those baskets were easy. The Tigers (20-8, 9-6 Southeastern) had 10 dunks and 46 points in the paint to pick up just their second win on the road this season. Missouri shot just nine 3-pointers, making six of them.

After shooting 67 percent (16 of 24) in the first half, the Tigers (20-8, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) made 12 of their first 13 shots from the field in the second half to go on a 31-13 run that ballooned a seven-point halftime lead into a 76-51 margin.

For most of the game, Missouri flirted with its best shooting night ever, 75.4 percent against Hawaii Loa in December of 1989. But the Tigers missed four of their last six shots to fall off the pace.

Damien Leonard came off the bench to lead South Carolina (13-15, 3-12) with 20 points. The Gamecocks have lost seven of their last eight games.

Missouri remains fifth in the SEC, just a game behind fourth place and a double bye in the conference tournament. With the victory, the Tigers reached 20 wins for the fifth straight year.

Bell missed the first game between the teams in January, where the Tigers shot 20 percent in the first half and had to come back from 13 points down for a 71-65 win. He was the difference in this one, shooting 8-of-12 and even adding four assists.

Alex Oriakhi scored 18 points, making all six of his shots and all six of his free throws. Phil Pressley didn’t attempt a single shot, but had nine assists, two over his SEC-leading average of seven a game.

Williams and Brian Richardson each added 10 points for South Carolina.

Missouri started the game hitting its first six shots and barely cooled off the rest of the half. But South Carolina always had a run to keep it close. The Gamecocks made seven of their 12 3-pointers in the opening half. South Carolina’s reserves scored 28 points, led by Brenton Williams’ 10 points.

Williams’ jumper with 2:35 left in the first half cut Missouri’s lead to 39-36. But the Tigers got dunks on each of their next three possessions and led 45-38 at halftime.

— Associated Press —