COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri forward Ryan Rosburg is not lacking motivation.

As the lone senior on a team that self-imposed a post-season ban in the wake of a recruiting violations scandal, Rosburg knows the date of his final collegiate basketball game; a home game against Florida Mar. 5.

From glancing at Rosburg’s stat line the last three games, it would appear he realizes his games are numbered. He scored 17 points in an 80-71 loss at Alabama Feb. 6 and had a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds in an 86-71 loss at Vanderbilt Wednesday.

But Rosburg had another motivator Saturday as he scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds, helping Missouri defeat Tennessee 75-64 and snap a nine-game losing streak.

Rhyan Loos, the 5-year old daughter of Missouri assistant coach Brad Loos, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in October. Mizzou Arena played host to a “Rally for Rhyan” Saturday, offering free admission to the general public with a cash donation at the door. The event raised more than $50,000, which will be donated to pediatric cancer research.

“Today was awesome,” said Rosburg, who also blocked two shots while shooting 8-for-9 from the field. “You could tell everyone had a little more pep in their step today and it was just an amazing environment. Just having the community rally around this little girl and our team, we appreciate it so much.”

The Tigers (9-16, 2-10 Southeastern Conference) closed the game on a 7-0 run, which was capped with a breakaway dunk by Rosburg in front of the student section.

“I’m playing like I got nothing to lose,” Rosburg said. “I don’t want to have any regrets looking back. I want to give it my all and play my heart out every game I have left.”

Despite committing nine turnovers in the first half, Missouri led 38-27 at halftime after closing on a 13-6 run. Kevin Puryear sank two free-throws with 5:25 seconds left in the first half, ending a five-and-a-half minute scoring drought in which in the Tigers committed seven turnovers. Puryear finished with 17 points and five rebounds.

“From the beginning, I don’t think loosing was an option for us,” Puryear said. “Today we were more determined than we’ve ever been. We love the Loos family and we really wanted to do that for (them).”

Kevin Punter Jr., whose 22.4 points per game ranks second in the SEC, had 21 points and three assists for Tennessee (12-13, 5-7), but shot just 5 of 13 from the field. Punter was 9 of 13 from the free-throw line and scored 14 in the second half, leading a late-game comeback effort.

“We talked about him being the key to their team,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said of Punter. “If you don’t build a wall or corral him or something, he’s going to take it all the way to the basket. I thought we did a pretty good job on him in the first half.”

After trailing by as many as 14, the Volunteers used a 12-5 run to cut the deficit to four points with 1:25 seconds to play. On the ensuing play, Terrence Phillips secured an offensive board off his own miss, leading to a foul and a pair of free-throws by Namon Wright.

Wright scored seven of Missouri’s first nine points, but had only one field goal in the second half. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Phillips had five points, five assists and a team-best seven rebounds.

“I think this is a meaningful day for a lot of reasons,” Anderson said. “I just think they had a determination today, and certainly the beauty of the day probably figured into that. I’m really proud of the way we responded.”

Devon Baulkman scored 17 points, making 4 of 8 3-point attempts. Shembari Phillips had 10 points and four rebounds, and Kyle Alexander had six points and seven rebounds for the Vols.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes thought post play was the difference in the game.

“We tried to rest Kyle and during that time, that’s really when Rosburg went to work on us,” Barnes said. “When we got it down to a working number we missed key free-throws. We still had some chances, but we didn’t make the winning plays and they did.”

Missouri outrebounded the Volunteers 41-26 and outscored them 30-18 in the paint. The Tigers committed 20 turnovers to Tennessee’s 10, leading to 13 points for the Volunteers.

Missouri shot 55 percent on a season-low 44 field goal attempts. It’s the highest shooting percentage since the team’s season-opening 83-74 victory over Wofford Nov. 13.

—

TIP-INS

Tennessee: While their tallest player stands 6-foot-9, The Volunteers rank second in the SEC in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.5 per game. …Punter owns the best field-goal percentage among guards in the SEC, shooting 46.9 percent on the season. …Detrick Mostella snapped a 15-game streak of at least one made 3-pointer. He was 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

Missouri: The Tigers are now 9-0 when leading at halftime. …Rosburg has scored 62 points in the last three games after averaging only 5.8 points per game on the season. …Missouri leads the all-time series 6-5.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“You couldn’t have scripted this day any better,” Missouri assistant coach Brad Loos said. “I’m so thankful for everything that everybody has done. We’ve been crying a lot over the past four months, but today was tears of joy, and it was really special for us as a family.”

UP NEXT

Tennessee: Visits No. 22 Kentucky Friday.

Missouri: Hosts South Carolina Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s basketball (19-6, 6-6) pulled away late to defeat Alabama (14-11, 3-9) 63-52 Thursday night at Mizzou Arena. Sierra Michaelis (Mercer, Mo.) led the Tigers with 14 points and four 3-pointers. Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) added 12 points and became the second-highest scoring freshman in program history.

The Tigers ended the game on a 20-8 run to close out the Crimson Tide. The victory marks the first time in school history that Mizzou has defeated Alabama at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers reserves outscored the Alabama bench 28-6. Redshirt sophomore Kayla McDowell (Cincinnati, Ohio) contributed to the bench scoring by tying her season-high with 11 points while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. It was the first time in her college career to shoot 100 percent from the field.

Three other tigers joined Cunningham and McDowell with double-digit scoring nights. Jordan Frericks (Quincy, Ill.) scored 10 while Cierra Porter finished with 11.

Frericks and Porter also lead the team in rebounds, collecting six each.

The Tigers moved the ball well in the first half, collecting 10 assists on 13 field goals made as a team. They accomplished this while only committing three turnovers, the fewest this season during the first half.

For the game, Mizzou shot 39 percent (21-for-54) from the floor and 75 percent (15-for-20) from the foul line. Alabama finished at 36 percent (16-for-45) from the field and 70 percent (14-fror-20) from the free throw line.

Mizzou will return to the hardwood on Sunday, Feb. 14 as they host rival Arkansas at 2 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wade Baldwin IV scored 17 points in leading five starters in double figures, and the Vanderbilt Commodores routed Missouri 86-71 Wednesday night for their second win in three games.

The Commodores (14-10, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) improved to 11-2 at Memorial Gym this season.

Luke Kornet scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with five blocks. Damian Jones had 14 points before fouling out, Matthew Fisher-Davis had 13 and Jeff Roberson 12.

Missouri (8-16, 1-10) lost its ninth straight.

Ryan Rosburg scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Tigers. Jakeenan Gant added 16 points in his return from a one-game suspension. Namon Wright had 11, and Kevin Puryear 10.

Jones scored the first six points of the game, giving Vanderbilt the lead from the start. The Commodores never trailed and knocked down three straight 3-pointers by three different players, the last by Nolan Cressler, in building that lead to 26-11. By halftime, they led 45-26.

The Commodores led 52-36 when they scored nine straight with Jones and Kornet both dunking in the run for their biggest lead of the game at 61-36 with 14:30 left. The Tigers shot 45.9 percent (17 of 37) in the second half but couldn’t get closer than 13 in the final six minutes.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri: A pair of Tigers returned after sitting out one-game suspensions. Both Gant and junior forward Russell Woods sat out last weekend’s loss at Alabama after being cited for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Gant played 15 minutes coming off the bench, while Woods played 11 minutes and had three rebounds. … Rosburg scored in double figures for the fifth time this season. … The Tigers had only one turnover in the second half and six for the game.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores came in ranked third nationally holding opponents to 28.1 percent shooting from 3-point range and 19th shooting 39.9 percent beyond the arc themselves. They held the Tigers to just 3 of 16 beyond the arc. But the Commodores cooled off after hitting five of their first nine and finished 8 of 29 (27.5 percent). … The Commodores have never lost to Missouri at Memorial Gym, improving to 5-0.

UP NEXT

Missouri: Hosts Tennessee on Saturday.

Vanderbilt: Visits Auburn on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Morgan William scored 17 points and Victoria Vivians 13, and the two guards made big plays late in No. 11 Mississippi State’s 52-42 victory over No. 21 Missouri on Sunday.

Mississippi State (21-4, 8-3 SEC) led 45-42 when William scored and Vivians followed with a steal and 3-point play for an eight-point lead with a minute left. William added two free throws with the duo combining for the Bulldogs’ final 11 points.

Sophie Cunningham scored 13 points and Jordan Frericks had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (18-6, 5-6).

Both teams shot under 33 percent, combining to make only 3 of 22 3-pointers. But the Bulldogs made eight steals and turned 27 Missouri turnovers into 29 points in picking up their fourth straight win and splitting the season series.

Mississippi State led from midway through the first quarter but Missouri stayed within single digits most of the way.

— Associated Press —

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Riley Norris made three 3-pointers and scored 18 points to help Alabama beat Missouri 80-71 on Saturday.

Arthur Edwards and Justin Coleman made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Alabama its largest lead of the game at 67-43 with 9:28 remaining.

“Sometimes we play like a real basketball team, and as I told them yesterday in practice, sometime they wanna be the Washington Generals, but the only problem with that was not many of them knew who the Washington Generals were,” Alabama coach Avery Johnson said.

Retin Obasohan had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Alabama (13-9, 4-6 SEC).

“(Obasohan) gets in the lane, he’s got that floater. Thing’s hard to guard,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “Give him credit. He’s a good player. I remembered him from a year ago. … He’s definitely improved.”

Obasohan put up 25 points in Alabama’s overtime win against Mississippi State last Tuesday.

Alabama shot 45 percent from the field in the first half and hit 5 3-pointers to build a 40-28 lead. Missouri was limited to 38 percent shooting in the half.

Coleman added 14 points for Alabama and Jimmie Taylor and Edwards each had 11. Taylor also blocked four shots.

“Other people focus on 11 points,” Johnson said of his point total. “I’m focusing on blocked shots.”

Freshman Kevin Puryear scored a season-best 22 points to lead Missouri (8-15, 1-9). Senior Ryan Rosburg also set a career-high with 17 points and the duo combined for 13 boards but the Tigers were outrebounded 38-30.

After 20 minutes of play, Missouri had six turnovers but finished with nine. Alabama had three turnovers in the first half before adding 10 more in the final frame.

Down 24, Missouri pulled within seven with less than 30 seconds left thanks to a 28-11 spurt over nine minutes. Coleman sealed the win for Alabama after he was sent to the line with 24 seconds left and sank both free throws.

“Obviously, when it came down to it, the rebounding was a major factor and the second-chance points,” Anderson said.

—

TIP-INS

Missouri: The Tigers have lost eight straight games. Their last win came on Jan. 9 against Auburn.

Alabama: Obasohan’s five-game streak of at least 20 points was snapped. He has scored 20-plus points in eight of his last 10 games.

UP NEXT:

Missouri heads to Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

Alabama hosts No. 8 Texas A&M on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Marjorie Butler led a balanced attack with 16 points and Georgia used a late 12-0 run to defeat No. 21 Missouri 65-50 on Thursday night.

Tiaria Griffin added 15 points, Shacobia Barbee had 14 and Caliya Robinson 12 with 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (17-6, 5-5 SEC), who were facing their sixth ranked team in the last 10 games. They lost the first three and have won the last three.

Sophie Cunningham had 17 points and Jordan Frericks 12 for Missouri (18-5, 5-5).

A 3-pointer by Griffin put Georgia up 45-43 with 6:15 to play. Frericks made a pair of free throws to pull the Tigers within two with 5:36 to go and then Butler started the run. She also ended it with a 3-pointer. By the time Cunningham made two free throws with 1:15 remaining, Georgia was up 59-47.

The Bulldogs turned 15 Missouri turnovers into 24 points.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Stefan Moody had 23 points and hit two free throws to put Mississippi ahead by a point with 13.4 seconds left in a late-game rally that led to a 76-73 victory over Missouri on Wednesday night.

Moody also matched his career best with eight rebounds and had five assists for the Rebels (14-8, 4-5 SEC), who won for just the second time in seven games. Tomasz Gieldo had 16 points including two 3-pointers in the final 1:33 to help Mississippi rally from a five-point deficit and Rasheed Brooks had 15 points.

Wesley Clark had 20 points including 10 for 10 at the free-throw line for Missouri (8-14, 1-8 SEC), which has lost seven in a row. The Tigers have a pair of three-point losses in the slump and squandered a five-point lead in the final 1:52.

Mississippi hit a season-best 14 3-pointers in 31 attempts, five of them by Moody and four by Gieldo. The Rebels have won four in a row in the series.

Kevin Puryear’s dunk gave Missouri its largest lead at 71-66. Clark’s layup attempt rolled in and out with 27 seconds left with a chance to put the Tigers up by three.

Moody entered with an SEC-leading 23.6-point average and had 14 points in 19 minutes in the first half, helping Mississippi build a 35-30 lead. Missouri stayed in it despite 34.6 percent shooting by going 9 for 13 at the line.

TIP-INS

Mississippi: Moody has made a 3-pointer in 35 consecutive games and equaled his rebounding best against Georgia Southern on Nov. 16. … F Sebastian Saiz, second in the SEC averaging 9.8 rebounds, missed his fifth straight game with an eye injury but the Rebels still had a 36-32 rebounding edge.

Missouri: Sophomore reserve G Tramaine Isabell emerged from a three-game benching but just barely with a missed shot in three minutes in the first half. He topped 20 minutes each of the last four games before the sit-down. Reserve Cullen Vanleer had 10 points, matching his total from the previous five games.

UP NEXT

Mississippi hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Missouri plays at Alabama on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The first-ever recruiting class for new Mizzou Football Head Coach Barry Odom was unveiled Wednesday as part of National Signing Day, and the new Tiger skipper and his staff came up with an outstanding haul of talented student-athletes from all over the country who look to help the program reach its championship goals.  Twenty standouts representing nine different states signed their names to National Letters of Intent to attend and play football at Mizzou.

As always, the emphasis on in-state talent led to a crop of highly-rated athletes who will lend their talents to their home state school.  Five standouts, including CB Jared Alton (Kirkwood), OL Trystan Castillo (Webb City), Cale Garrett (Kearney, Mo.), TE Brendan Scales (Wildwood) and DL Tre Williams (Columbia) all pledged to be Tigers today.  When the metro areas of both Kansas City and St. Louis are factored in, the “local” number doubles to 10, including K Tucker McCann (O’Fallon, Ill.), OL Tre’vour Simms (East St. Louis, Ill.), Nate Strong (East St. Louis, Ill.), S Greg Taylor (East St. Louis, Ill.) and OL Tyler Howell (Bonner Springs, Kan.).

“I’m excited about what we have in place,” said Odom.  “We’ve addressed some immediate needs we have hitting going into the fall, and there’s others who we believe in the long run will be significant contributors to the program.  I’m really pleased with our coaching staff and what they were able to accomplish in a very short amount of time after coming together.  To see their energy on the road and in the homes, in the schools, and their relentlessness as they attacked recruiting, it was a great effort,” he said.

Four from the group are already enrolled in classes at Mizzou this semester, and are gearing up to take part in spring drills, beginning in March.  Joining Mizzou for the spring semester are LB Trey Baldwin (Houston, Texas), WR Chris Black (native of Jacksonville, Fla., transferring from Alabama), OL Tyler Howell (Bonner Springs, Kan.) and K Tucker McCann (O’Fallon, Ill.).  They will be on hand for spring drills as the Tigers prepare for the annual Black & Gold Game set for April 16th (5 p.m. central time) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.

A full roster of signees follows, as well as extensive biographical sketches of the 20 newest Mizzou Tigers.
TIME    FULL NAME    POS.    HT.    WT.    YEAR    HOMETOWN    PREVIOUS SCHOOL
10:27 AM    Dominic Collins    WR    6-2     175    Jr.    Fullerton, Calif.    Saddleback C.C.
11:24 AM    Nate Strong    RB    6-0     211    So.    East St. Louis, Ill.    Hinds C.C.
11:51 AM    Dimetrios Mason    ATH    6-0     170    Fr.    Loganville, Ga.    Grayson HS
7:12 AM    Trystan Castillo    OL    6-4     295    Fr.    Webb City, Mo.    Webb City HS
7:14 AM    Markell Utsey    DL    6-4     285    Fr.    Little Rock, Ark.    Parkview HS
7:31 AM    Micah Wilson    QB    6-3     205    Fr.    Tulsa, Okla.    Lincoln Christian
7:43 AM    Greg Taylor    S    5-10     200    R-So.    East St. Louis, Ill.    Hinds C.C.
7:52 AM    Christian Holmes    CB    6-1     182    Fr.    Atlanta, Ga.    McNair HS
8:08 AM    Damarea Crockett    RB    5-11     212    Fr.    Little Rock, Ark.    Little Rock Christian HS
8:08 AM    Cale Garrett    LB    6-3     225    Fr.    Kearney, Mo.    Kearney HS
8:08 AM    Albert Okwuegbunam    TE    6-5     225    Fr.    Springfield, Ill.    Sacred Heart Griffin HS
8:18 AM    Jerod Alton    CB    5-10     180    Fr.    Kirkwood, Mo.    Kirkwood HS
9:09 AM    DeMarkus Acy    S    6-2     183    Fr.    Dallas, Texas    Wilmer-Hutchins HS
9:15 AM    Tre Williams    DL    6-5     235    Fr.    Columbia, Mo.    Rock Bridge HS
9:29 AM    Tre’vour Simms    OL    6-5     300    Fr.    East St. Louis, Ill.    East St. Louis HS
9:38 AM    Brendan Scales    TE    6-4     235    Fr.    Wildwood, Mo.    Lafayette HS
On Campus    Trey Baldwin    LB    6-2     240    Fr.    Houston, Texas    Cypress Falls HS
On Campus    Chris Black    WR    6-0     192    Sr.    Jacksonville, Fla.    Alabama
On Campus    Tyler Howell    OL    6-8     305    R-Jr.    Bonner Springs, Kan.    Butler C.C.
On Campus    Tucker McCann    K    6-0     185    Fr.    O’Fallon, Ill.    O’Fallon HS

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball sophomore Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) was honored by USA Baseball when the organization released its annual awards on Tuesday (Feb. 4), earning USA Baseball’s International Performance of the Year for his efforts in a combined no-hitter against Cuba. The game was part of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team’s five-game series with Cuba over the summer.

Houck shares the award with Texas A&M’s Ryan Hendrix, Clemson’s Chris Okey and Florida’s A.J. Puk. Houck started the opening game of a five-game series against Cuba and tossed 4.0 perfect innings before Hendrix and Puk shut the door over the final five frames. In all, Cuba had just two baserunners in the game (walk and error) while Houck did not allow a Cuba player to reach base during his four innings. The win snapped a five-game winning streak for Cuba against the USA Collegiate National Team and it is the only time Cuba’s national team has been no-hit in international play.

The start against Cuba was the highlight of what was a very successful summer with USA Baseball for Houck. He led the team in innings pitched, strikeouts and starts while boasting an 11-1 strikeout-walk ratio and a .159 opponent batting average.

— Mizzou Athletics —

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Sierra Michaelis scored 20 points with eight rebounds and five assists and No. 22 Missouri handled Mississippi 60-46 on Sunday.

Michaelis went 6 of 9 from the field with four 3-pointers. Jordan Frericks had 17 points with nine boards, Sophie Cunningham had 10 points with 11 rebounds and Cierra Porter grabbed 10 more rebounds as Missouri (18-4, 5-4 SEC) dominated the glass 50-32.

Mississippi (10-11, 2-6 SEC) was led by A’Queen Hayes and Shandricka Sessom with 15 points apiece. Shequila Joseph added 10 points. Ole Miss was limited to 24 percent from the field, including 5 of 34 (14.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Ole Miss led after a slow first half, 19-18, as the teams combined for seven points in the second quarter. Missouri heated up in the third, though, as Michaelis hit 3-pointers on the Tigers first two possessions, then closed the frame with a 7-2 spurt.

Missouri finished the game with an 11-3 run over 5:11.

— Associated Press —