COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball sophomore guard Sophie Cunningham was named ESPNW Player of the Week, as announced Monday. Cunningham led Mizzou to a pair of dramatic wins over Florida and No. 6 South Carolina, averaging 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

The two performances marked the second time this season Cunningham has scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games. She’s reached 20 points eight times this season and 18 times in her career. Cunningham has scored in double figures in six consecutive games as Mizzou has won three in a row and eight of its past 11 contests.

Mizzou launched the week with a gritty 74-67 road win over Florida. Cunningham poured in a game-high 28 points, accounting for 44 percent of Mizzou’s scoring output. The sophomore shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Her six unanswered points in the fourth quarter erased a deficit and catapulted Mizzou ahead for good as the Tigers sealed a road victory.

On Sunday, Mizzou toppled No. 6 South Carolina in front of a raucous crowd as Cunningham recorded a game-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting (62.5 percent). On the Tigers’ final offensive possession, Cunningham took on multiple defenders, drove through lane and buried a game-winning layup with 0.6 seconds left to lift her squad to an upset over the three-time defending SEC champions.

Cunningham added seven rebounds and five assists in an all-around effort. She has racked up at least 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists on six different occasions this season. Cunningham scored 20 of her 28 points in the second half, making 8-of-11 field goals. Her clutch performance allowed Mizzou to come back from down 10 and earn its biggest victory of the 2016-17 campaign.

Cunningham is the only player in the SEC shooting above 45 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line. She’s averaging 17.2 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the league.

Next up on the slate for the Tigers is a home Senior Night matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, with tip set for 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham made a layup with 0.6 seconds to give Missouri a 62-60 comeback victory over No. 6 South Carolina on Sunday.

Cunningham had 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting to help the Tigers (19-9, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) win their third straight. They beat the Gamecocks (22-4, 12-2) for the second time since joining the conference.

Sierra Michaelis added 11 points, and Cierra Porter had 10 for Missouri. The Tigers trailed 48-44 after three quarters.

A’ja Wilson had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead South Carolina, and Allisha Gray added 10 points. The Gamecocks lost for the second time in three games, with the other setback coming at No. 1 UConn.

Missouri led 58-55 in the closing minutes after a pair of free throws by Cunningham, but South Carolina tied it at 60 on Wilson’s two free throws.

The Gamecocks had the ball with less than 20 seconds remaining, but Kaela Davis was called for a charge — taken by Missouri’s Lianna Doty — to give the ball back to the Tigers.

Moments later, Cunningham put Missouri up 62-60 with her layup — and Wilson was unable to attempt a shot for South Carolina following a timeout.

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks were likely weary from a busy week of travel, having played at UConn on Monday, returned home to defeat Vanderbilt on Thursday and then playing at Missouri on Sunday — with a road trip to Texas A&M awaiting next week. With center Alaina Coates in foul trouble throughout the game before fouling out with 4:28 remaining, South Carolina’s imposing frontcourt was outrebounded 34-26 by the Tigers.

Missouri: The nine conference wins are the most for Missouri since joining the SEC in 2015, and the Tigers have now won five straight conference games at home — the school’s longest streak since the 2005-06 season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

South Carolina wasn’t likely to fall far in the polls following its lost at UConn, but Sunday’s defeat could cause voters to second-guess that decision. Missouri, meanwhile, didn’t receive any votes in The Associated Press poll last week, but it likely will after a signature win like Sunday’s victory.

UP NEXT

South Carolina is at No. 23 Texas A&M on Thursday.

Missouri hosts Mississippi on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

FORT MYERS, Fla.  – Mizzou Baseball won its series finale with Eastern Michigan, 7-2, on Sunday at City of Palms Park, completing a 3-1 weekend against the Eagles. RS sophomore Liam Carter (Highland Park, Ill.) turned in a tremendous start, allowing just two runs over 5.0 innings while scattering only four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He was backed by early runs, sparked by a pair of doubles from sophomore OF Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.), who doubled and scored in each of his first two at-bats.

Carter earned his first career win in what was his first career start. It was also his first decision since March 29 of last season when he earned a save against St. Louis at Kauffman Stadium. The Tigers put men on base throughout the game and actually stranded 14 runners, but the early runs and a late homer by C Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.), his first of the season, was all the offense Mizzou needed as the bullpen was outstanding in relief of Carter.

Mizzou got on the board in the first as Brumfield ripped a double into left and was knocked in by Kameron Misner (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) after a sacrifice bunt. Mizzou eventually loaded the bases but a pair of strikeouts stranded them loaded.

Carter came back out in the second and allowed a leadoff double, but he pitched around it brilliantly, picking up a strikeout looking on a big, 12-6 curveball to strand the tying run on third base, sending the game to the bottom of the second. EMU starter Brad Allen appeared to be cruising in the second, retiring the first two men he faced, but Brumfield ripped a two-out double into left for his second of the day. He was then knocked in on a full-count single the other way by Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead after two.

It was an easy 1-2-3 inning for Carter in the third as he picked up his second strikeout and a pair of groundouts. Brian Sharp (Liberty, Mo.) led off the third with his first career triple off the wall in right. He came around to score on a wild pitch, extending the Mizzou lead to 3-0.

It was a quiet fourth inning for both teams and EMU finally got to Carter for two runs in the fifth inning. Mizzou answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a throwing error on a double-play ball by the Eagles. That gave Mizzou a 4-2 lead after five as Ty Shoaff (Akron, Ohio) relived Carter in the sixth. He pitched around a one-out single in the frame thanks to a slick play by Alex Samples (Bridgeport, Texas) at third for the second out.

Junior RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) pitched a shutout seventh inning and worked around a bases-loaded, two-out jam after a walk and two infield singles in for a shutout eighth. Bond hit his homer, a solo dinger, on a full count in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 6-2. Matt Berler (Hoover, Ala.) had a great at-bat in the eighth inning as well, working a full count and fouling off several pitches before roping an RBI single back up the middle to give Mizzou a 7-2 lead.

RS sophomore RHP Cameron Dulle (St. Louis, Mo.) made his Mizzou debut and closed the game out from there. Mizzou will be back in action next week at the Kleberg Bank Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Mizzou will open action Thursday with a true road game at Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 6:30 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III’s different look gave the Volunteers some different luck.

Grant Williams scored 25 points and Hubbs added 21 on Saturday as Tennessee bounced back from its most lopsided loss of the season by delivering a 90-70 blowout of Missouri.

Hubbs had his hair in cornrows for the first time this season, though he said it wasn’t a superstitious attempt to get out of his recent funk. Hubbs, the Vols’ leading scorer, had exceeded the 11-point mark just once in the six games leading up to this one while battling a knee injury.

“I just had to do something with it,” Hubbs said. “It was getting out of control, so one of my friends was like, `Just braid it.’ ”

The hairstyle resulted in some good-natured teasing from Tennessee coach Rick Barnes as Hubbs entered the postgame interview room.

Hubbs said he felt faster with his hair braided.

“That hair was like a windshield holding you back,” Barnes quipped.

When Barnes asked why Hubbs didn’t just cut his hair short, the senior guard replied that it would “look weird.”

“You don’t think that does?” Barnes replied.

Hubbs wasn’t saying how he planned to style his hair for Tennessee’s next game, but his teammates may want him to keep the cornrows as a good-luck charm. Tennessee had lost three of its last four games before Saturday and was coming off an 83-58 loss at No. 13 Kentucky, but the Vols’ victory over Missouri kept alive their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Tennessee (15-12, 7-7 SEC) already has matched its win total from last year, when the Volunteers finished 15-19 for their first losing season since 2004-05.

Although Tennessee has a much better record, Missouri (7-19, 2-12) actually had been playing better than the Vols recently. Missouri had split its last four games. Tennessee had lost three of its last four and was coming off its most lopsided defeat of the year — an 83-58 setback at No. 13 Kentucky.

“We’ve actually used Missouri as an example all year to our players (because they’re) a team that shows great perseverance,” Barnes said. “They keep playing hard. And over the last couple of weeks, they’ve gotten some wins because they’ll battle you. We’ve told our guys we’ve got to have that resolve.”

But the Tigers couldn’t put up much resistance against Tennessee.

After Missouri’s Cullen VanLeer gave Missouri a 2-0 lead 54 seconds into the game, the Tigers wouldn’t get another basket for over eight minutes. Tennessee went on a 16-2 run and scored 13 straight points during one portion of that Missouri drought.

Tennessee was ahead 41-28 at halftime and led by as many as 24 in the second half.

“The impressive thing about (Tennessee) is how hard they play,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “It’s not that they’re particularly big, but they play really hard. I thought we didn’t match that intensity level at the beginning of the game. Consequently, when that happens, you tend to foul a lot. We fouled a lot, especially in the first half, put them on the line and they made free throws.”

Admiral Schofield scored 17 points and Shembari Phillips had 10 for Tennessee. Terrence Phillips scored 18 points, Jordan Barnett had 11 and Kevin Puryear added 10 for Missouri.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: Saturday’s game represented a reunion of sorts for Barnett and Barnes. Barnett played 21 games and averaged 1.9 points in 2014-15 for a Texas team that was coached by Barnes. … Missouri’s frustrating day included technical fouls that were called on assistant coach Rob Fulford and Phillips.

Tennessee: The Vols have led by at least 13 points in five of their losses this season, but they had no trouble protecting a double-digit advantage Saturday. Tennessee remained in front by at least 10 throughout the second half.

TURNING POINT

After trailing by 18 late in the first half, Missouri went on an 11-0 spurt to cut Tennessee’s lead to 33-26.

Tennessee responded with a five-point possession, as Lamonte Turner hit a 3-pointer and Williams sank two free throws after getting fouled away from the ball. The Vols weren’t seriously threatened the rest of the way.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hosts No. 13 Kentucky on Tuesday.

Tennessee: Hosts Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

FORT MYERS, Fla.  – Mizzou Baseball dropped its season opener to Eastern Michigan, 6-2, on Friday night at City of Palms Park. Mizzou junior RHP Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) took the loss after going 5.2 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. Four of the five runs allowed by Houck came with two outs, one on a passed ball and three on two-out hits. Eastern Michigan’s Brent Mattson earned the win, going 5.0 innings, scattering seven hits with two runs (both earned).

Junior catcher Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) drove in Mizzou’s two runs with a two-out, two-run single in the first. Freshman second baseman Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied his first collegiate hits with a 3-for-5 performance, including a double in the first inning to set up Bond’s RBIs. In all, Mizzou left 12 men on base in the loss while the Eagles left just five, capitalizing nearly all night with runners on base.

Houck was the victim of an error and a passed ball in the first inning. He picked up his third strikeout of the inning following a throwing error that he made trying to hold a runner, but a passed ball allowed the run to score. Houck picked up the rare four-strikeout inning to get out of the frame, but trailed 1-0.

Sophomore Connor Brumfield (Columbia, Mo.) led off Mizzou’s half of the frame with a single up the middle and freshman 2B Chris Cornelius (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied his first career hit in the next at-bat, a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. After two outs, junior Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) laced a two-out, two-strike, two-run single through the left side to plate a pair of runs, giving Mizzou a 2-1 lead after one.

Eastern Michigan got to Houck in the third for two hits and a walk, resulting in the Eagles regaining a 3-2 lead. The Eagles used another big two-out hit in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 4-2. They again did the same thing to Houck in the sixth inning, extending the lead to 5-2.  That chased Houck in favor of RS junior Cole Bartlett (Williamsburg, Ind.), who got Mizzou through six on the first pitch he threw.

The Eagles tacked on another sacrifice fly in the seventh to extend the lead as it continued to find holes while Mizzou continued to line out with runners on base. Bartlett was solid, allowing just two hits over 2.1 innings with three strikeouts, but he did allow a run. Junior RHP Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) tossed a shutout ninth to give Mizzou a chance to rally in the bottom half of the frame. But nothing came of it as the Tigers fell, 6-2.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (18-9, 8-5) earned a 74-67 road victory over Florida on Thursday night, improving to 6-0 all-time against the Gators. The Tigers now have 18 wins for the third consecutive season for the first time since 1984-1987. Mizzou’s eight victories in conference play match its most in a campaign since joining the SEC.

Sophomore Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was dominant, pouring in 28 points behind four three-pointers and an 8-of-9 effort from the free throw line. It marks the seventh time Cunningham has scored at least 20 points in a game this season and the 17th time in her career. The sophomore has recorded at least 16 points in three consecutive road games for Mizzou.

Senior guard Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) chipped in 15 points, hitting five three-pointers. She has made at least four threes in a game 19 times in her career now.

Mizzou hit 13 triples as a team for the second consecutive game, shooting 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Tigers have racked up double-digit trifectas in five different contests this season.

After a slow offensive opening quarter for both squads, Mizzou exploded in the second quarter, scoring 24 points in the frame. While Cunningham continued to convert tough buckets, it was senior Lianna Doty (St. Louis, Mo.) who ignited a momentum-shifting 13-0 run to close the half.

With Florida up 26-22, Doty assisted sophomore Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.), who finished an easy basket in the paint. Doty then caused a pair of turnovers defensively before draining a rhythm triple from the wing. The big run gave the Tigers a 35-26 halftime lead.

Florida caught fire in the third quarter to erase the deficit. The Gators made 11-of-14 field goals in the frame and surged in front 45-40. Redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) squashed the run with a pair of three-pointers. The two teams ended the seesaw frame with Florida clinging to a 55-53 advantage.

Sophie Cunningham sealed the win for Mizzou, taking over in the final 10 minutes of action. The sophomore guard scored six consecutive points for the Tigers, following a trey with a tough layup in traffic to push her squad back in front, 62-56. Florida cut the deficit to three with 3:23 remaining, but freshman Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) drained a clutch three-pointer to give Mizzou a two-possession lead it would never relinquish.

Smith was one of five different Tigers to hit a trey, with four sinking at least two on Thursday night.

Mizzou returns home Sunday for its annual Play4Kay Pink Out game. The Tigers host No. 6 South Carolina with tip set for 2 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Dazon Ingram scored 18 points — including 15 in the second half — and grabbed nine rebounds to help Alabama overcome dismal first-half shooting and defeat Missouri 57-54 Wednesday.

Riley Norris, Braxton Key and Jimmie Taylor each added nine points, combing for 19 second-half points. Bola Olanyian scored just two points but grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds as Alabama outrebounded Missouri 39-36, including 21-13 in the second half. The Crimson Tide have now outrebounded their opponents in 20 of 25 games.

“I’m just so proud of our guys,” Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. “This was a game we could’ve easily laid down and quit. (Key) and (Ingram) really triggered our comeback with their decision-making, shot-making, their defense and rebounding. A lot of guys on our team deserve credit, but none more than (Key and Ingram).”

Alabama (15-10 , 8-5 Southeastern Conference) had its worst offensive half of the season, making just 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) field-goal attempts before the break. After a jumper by Key opened the scoring just 16 seconds in, the Tide missed 18 of their next 19 shots over the following 15 minutes.

Ingram said his mindset didn’t change following the first-half slump.

“Just stay poised and continue to do what we were doing,” Ingram said of Johnson’s halftime advice. “We weren’t executing on offense in the first half, so we just wanted to keep playing defense and go down and keep scoring.”

Alabama missed its first five second-half shots. But, after a 3-pointer by Jordan Geist gave Missouri an eight-point lead with 7:52 to play, the Tigers made just one if its last eight shots while Alabama hit 7 of 9 down the stretch.

K.J. Walton had nine of his 12 points in the first half and Kevin Puryear finished with 11 for Missouri. Jordan Geist added nine points while Jordan Barnett, who came in averaging a team-high 13.1 points per game, scored just five on 2-for-10 shooting, but grabbed 12 rebounds.

Alabama made seven of its final nine shots while Missouri shot 2-for-10 over the final eight minutes. After a turnover by Terrence Phillips in the final minute, Missouri was forced to foul trailing by one possession. With seven seconds remaining, Key missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Donta Hall secured the offensive rebound, sending Ingram to the line. Ingram sank both free-throws, sealing the Crimson Tides’ fifth conference road victory of the season. Hall finished with four points and six rebounds.

“We can’t afford to give away possessions,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “We had opportunities at the end, even when we were behind, but we couldn’t make the play…We can’t make a bunch of mistakes, whether they be physical or mental, and expect to beat a good team.”

BIG PICTURE

Alabama: The Crimson Tide have now won five consecutive games against Missouri, including a 68-56 victory Jan. 18 in Tuscaloosa. This was Alabama’s visit to Mizzou Arena since Jan. 18, 2014, a 68-47 loss.

Missouri: The Tigers were seeking their third-consecutive conference win at home, something they have not accomplished since the 2013-14 season. Missouri won its first conference game of the season on Feb. 4, 83-78 against Arkansas, before defeating Vanderbilt 72-52 Saturday.

PIVOTAL MOMENT

With just under five minutes remaining, the ball appeared to go out of bounds off Ingram, but was ruled last touched by Missouri, inciting boos from the home crowd. Following that call, Alabama hit back-to-back 3-pointers on the ensuing possessions and never surrendered the lead.

“That was big for us,” said Ingram, who hit both 3-pointers. “Braxton came off the screen, found me, and I was able to knock it down. Coach Avery tells us if we’re open, step up to it and shoot it with confidence, and that’s what I did.”

“After that out-of-bounds call and those two 3’s, the ball was pretty much in their court at that point,” Puryear said. “It definitely changed the momentum of the game and gave them all the momentum. At that point, we were trying to claw back, but just didn’t make the plays we needed to make.”

UP NEXT

Alabama: Hosts LSU Saturday. The Crimson Tide defeated LSU 81-66 Jan. 4 in Baton Rouge.

Missouri: Visits Tennessee Saturday. The Tigers won the last meeting 75-64 on Feb. 13, 2016 in Columbia.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has received its ninth, seven-figure gift toward the new south end zone facility at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field which is scheduled to open ahead of the 2019 football season. An anonymous donor made a $2 million gift toward the project, which is currently being designed by the Kansas City-based architecture firm Populous, last Friday.

“With the Board of Curators approving Populous as the facility’s architect and the continued generosity of our donors, there continues to be tremendous momentum for this facility which is so important to the long-term future of Mizzou Athletics, and in particular our football program” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “We are so grateful for the donors who continue to come forward with transformational gifts to help make this a reality for our student-athletes, staff and fans.”

This gift marks the project’s ninth, seven-figure gift in the past eight months, which is a fiscal year record for Mizzou Athletics (the previous high was six such gifts). To date, more than $46 million has been secured in private donations for the new facility.

“We’re really excited to continue the momentum from our donors, and coming on the heels of the Board’s action last week, this is great news,” said Mizzou Head Football Coach Barry Odom. “We are very grateful to the Board of Curators for their support of this project, and I’m looking forward to working with the Populous team as we design a facility that will be one of the best in the country.”

Populous was approved last Thursday by the University of Missouri Board of Curators as the architect for the $96.7 million project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2019. Recognized as one of the nation’s premier sports architect firms, Kansas City-based Populous has completed major football projects since 2012 for Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Colorado while designing the three newest on-campus FBS stadiums in Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium, Baylor’s McLane Stadium and Colorado State’s Sonny Lubick Field, which debuts in 2017.

The Mizzou project will include a four-story football team facility in the south end zone at Memorial Stadium/Farout Field as well as new premium seating opportunities for Tiger football fans.

In addition to providing a new state-of-the-art home for Mizzou Football and creating new revenue streams for Mizzou Athletics through premium seating opportunities, the new facility will also have an impact on the Central Missouri economy, as a recent study conducted by Plano, Texas-based Convention, Sports and Leisure projects a $700 million regional impact from the project along with 1,200 new jobs.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (17-9, 7-5) beat Arkansas, 67-56, on Sunday night, earning its fourth consecutive home win. With the victory, Mizzou clinched its fifth consecutive winning season for the first time since 1985-1990.

The Tigers completed their first season sweep over the Razorbacks since joining the SEC. Mizzou is now 13-1 at home during the 2016-17 campaign and have seven conference victories overall for the third straight season.

Mizzou scorched the nets Sunday, shooting 59.1 percent from 3-point range, its best performance from deep in conference play, as the Tigers claimed their ninth double-digit win this season. Mizzou made at least 10 triples as a team for the fourth time in 2016-17 and the third time against an SEC opponent.

Redshirt senior Lindsey Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) poured in a career-high 21 points to lead Mizzou and added six rebounds. She made a career-high five three-pointers, shooting 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. She’s now put together three perfect games this season from three-point range.

Freshman Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) tallied 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to seal her first career double-double. Mizzou improved to 5-0 this season when Smith reaches double digits.

Sophomore Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) contributed 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists. She has scored at least 10 points in eight of the Tigers’ 12 conference games.

The Razorbacks took an early lead in the first quarter, but Mizzou catapulted in front with hot-shooting from beyond the arc. Mizzou drained six three-pointers, with five different Tigers making at least one, in the first period of play to take a 20-16 lead through 10 minutes of action.

Mizzou hit three more treys to begin the second quarter as the Tigers’ first nine field goals of the game all came from three-point range. After the Cunningham sisters knocked down a triple each on back-to-back possessions, the Tigers owned a 10-point advantage. Mizzou ended the opening half on a 16-6 run and entered the break up 41-25.

Arkansas clawed back to within 11 midway through the third quarter but the Tigers seized momentum back behind the efforts of Smith. The freshman got an offensive rebound and putback on two consecutive possessions to push Mizzou back up 17. Lindsey Cunningham hit another three-pointer to beat the buzzer at the end of the frame and the Tigers entered the final quarter with a 55-38 lead.

Sophie Cunningham sealed the victory with eight points in the fourth quarter. She’s scored in double figures in four consecutive games.

Mizzou finished the night shooting 16-of-20 (80 percent) from the free throw line. The Tigers have now shot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe 23 times in 26 contests.

Mizzou heads to Gainesville, Fla., next to take on Florida on Thursday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT

— MU Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Barnett matched his career best in scoring just three days after he achieved it as Missouri defeated Vanderbilt 72-52 on Saturday.

Barnett scored a career-high 23 points in a 76-73 loss at Texas A&M on Wednesday and did it again in Mizzou’s win on Saturday.

“It was really fun,” Barnett said. “Not just from the standpoint of me scoring, but, I know I played as hard as a I could. We played extremely hard and it seemed like we forced them to lay down and we took over. It feels really good to be able to win in that fashion.”

Barnett also hauled in nine rebounds, and has now scored 69 points in the Tigers’ last four games.

“I’m really proud of him because I’ve been hard on him,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “He’s finally being more aggressive for longer. I think he tended, in the past, to defer to other people, and he’s a very talented basketball player. I think he took advantage of his opportunities tonight.”

Kevin Puryear had 13 points and eight rebounds, Terrence Phillips added 12 points and Russell Woods pitched in 10 points for Missouri (7-17, 2-10 Southeastern Conference).

“We knew that he was coming in very hot,” Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew said of Barnett. “He makes 3s in a variety of ways, he gets to the rim and we knew the scouting report coming in. Unfortunately, he hit some tough shots with guys in his face, so you’ve really got to credit him.”

Missouri led 35-29 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Puryear sparked an early 11-0 run that lasted 3:14 and gave the Tigers a seven-point lead, its largest of the half.

Luke Kornet led the way for Vanderbilt with 11 points and five rebounds. Matthew Fisher-Davis, who entered the game averaging 15.6 points per game, scored just eight on 1 of 5 shooting. Nolan Cressler, Riley LaChance and Clevon Brown each added eight.

The Commodores (12-13, 5-7) entered the game leading the SEC in 3-pointers made, but struggled from distance, shooting just 21.4 percent, including 1-for-15 in the second half.

“We feed off the three-point shot,” Drew said. “We win games by it and we lose games by it. It’s just how this team is built. I thought we had some really good looks, especially in that second half. When you miss and you don’t get any easy baskets.it’s hard to work your way back into the game.”

Phillips was knocked to the ground as the first half expired and had to be restrained by teammates and referees while Vanderbilt made its way to the locker room. After both teams had left the floor, Jordan Geist and Jeff Roberson received technical fouls. The Tigers were involved in a similar halftime skirmish in a 71-66 loss at Georgia on Jan. 7. Phillips finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

The Tigers continued their hot shooting in the second half, led by Puryear and Barnett, who combined to shoot 8-for-11 from 3-point range. With its offense clicking, Missouri played perhaps its best defensive half of the season, holding the Commodores without a field goal for the final 12:13.

“When (Vanderbilt) made a run, we fought back,” Anderson said. “I think that says a lot about our guys and our defense and just the way that we were able to play.”

BIG PICTURE

Vanderbilt: The Commodores average over 10 made 3-pointers per game and shoot 39.1 percent as a team, but made only six against Missouri, shooting 18 percent below their season average. …Fisher-Davis had been held to single-digit scoring five times this season prior to this game, most recently on Jan. 24 in a 71-70 home loss to Arkansas. …Vanderbilt outscored Missouri 22-18 in the paint…. The Commodores have never won in Mizzou Arena, falling to 0-5 all time.

Missouri: The Tigers outrebounded Vanderbilt 43-25, their largest rebounding margin in conference play this season. …Missouri scored 21 second-chance points to Vanderbilt’s four. …Missouri’s bench outscored Vanderbilt’s 28-20…

ANDERSON’S 300TH WIN

Saturday’s win marks Anderson’s 300th career victory as a head coach. He is 26-61 in his third season at Missouri, having won 274 games and a Division-II national championship at Central Missouri.

“We care a lot about Coach Anderson,” Puryear said. “This means a lot for everybody on the inside. We continue to fight every day and we’re in this together, so for us to win in that fashion to get him his 300th win was big for all of us.”

After the game, Puryear handed Anderson the game ball courtside in front of a home crowd of over 10,000.

“From the time I got here until the time I got to 300, it took a long time to get it,” Anderson said. “And that’s disappointing, but it’s a special moment. It is special to be able to win 300 games. I guess not everybody gets to do it.”

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt: Hosts Texas A&M Thursday. The Commodores won the last meeting 68-54 on Jan. 31 in College Station.

Missouri: Hosts Alabama Wednesday. The Tigers have not beaten Alabama since Jan. 18, 2014, a 68-47 win in Mizzou Arena.

— Associated Press —