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Category: Sports

MWSU’s Roenfeldt earns First Team All-MIAA honors

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced the Women’s Basketball All-MIAA teams on Tuesday. Katrina Roenfeldt, Melia Richardson, and Brittany Atkins all received All-MIAA recognition.

ALL-MIAA FIRST TEAM
Katrina Roenfeldt

MIAA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Melia Richardson

ALL-MIAA HONORABLE MENTION
Brittany Atkins
Melia Richardson

Katrina Roenfeldt was named First Team All-MIAA after returning from a season-ending injury last season. The redshirt junior guard was one of the top scorers in the conference, finishing second in the MIAA with 467 total points (16.7 per game). Roenfeldt broke the Missouri Western single-season record for three-pointers in a season with 84 made three’s. Roenfeldt was known for more than just her scoring, also leading the team in rebounds (5.1) and minutes (33.8) per game. She was the most consistent offensive threat for the Griffons as she scored in double figures in 25 of the team’s 28 games. Roenfeldt enters the MIAA Championships on the most productive scoring stretch of her career, averaging nearly 20 points per game over her last 10 games.

Melia Richardson receives both MIAA All-Defensive and All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors. Richardson has now been named All-MIAA Honorable Mention in back-to-back seasons. Richardson wraps up her four-year career at Missouri Western with 114 games and over 3,000 minutes played. The senior averaged 8.5 points per game while also leading the team with 2.5 assists per game. She registered double-figure scoring in eight games this season, including a season-high 22 points at Southwest Baptist on Feb. 21.

Brittany Atkins earns All-MIAA Honorable Mention recognition in her final season at Missouri Western. She was the Griffons’ second-leading scorer with 11.7 points per game. Atkins scored at least 10 points in 12 of her 19 games played, which included a streak of six-straight games. She poured in season-highs with 24 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the Griffons’ win at Lincoln on Feb. 7.

— MWSU Athletics —

Nebraska loses at No. 9 Michigan State 91-76

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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kenny Goins and Matt McQuaid have been role players for much of their careers at Michigan State.

On the same night and in timely fashion, the seniors were stars for the ninth-ranked Spartans.

Goins scored 21 of his career-high 24 points in the first half and McQuaid finished with a career-best 22, leading Michigan State to a 91-76 win over Nebraska on Tuesday.

“It’s our last week in the Breslin and both of us are trying to go out with a bang,” Goins said.

Goins and McQuaid, along with freshman Aaron Henry, who scored a season-high 15 points, made up for Cassius Winston matching his season low with eight points.

Winston was slowed by knee tendinitis.

“Nothing that will linger,” coach Tom Izzo insisted.

The Spartans (24-6, 15-4 Big Ten) close the regular season against No. 7 Michigan (26-4, 15-4) at home Saturday night with at least a share of the conference championship at stake. No. 11 Purdue lost at Minnesota, dropping the Boilermakers into a three-way tie with Michigan State and the Wolverines.

“With a championship at stake, that just adds that much more,” Goins said.

The Cornhuskers (15-15, 5-14) have lost four in a row and 11 of 13 in what might be Tim Miles ‘ final season as their coach. Relatively speaking, they bounced back after an 82-53 loss at Michigan.

“That was such a disappointment,” Miles said. “We’ve got to have more in us than that and tonight we did. There are no moral victories, but at the same time, we fought back to seven.”

Nebraska’s James Palmer matched his season high with 30 points. Glynn Watson equaled his season best with 25 points while Isaiah Roby added 10 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Michigan State started slowly before taking control and leading 47-29 at halftime after Goins was 5 of 5 on 3-pointers and McQuaid scored 13 in the opening 20 minutes.

“The basket looked huge in the first half,” Goins said.

Goins entered scoring 7.8 points per game and the former walk-on averaged 3.4 or fewer points over his first three seasons.

“He’s a self-made guy,” Miles said. “He went from a guy not in the scouting report years ago to going out and having a great night.”

McQuaid topped his previous best scoring game with a 3 midway through the second half to give the Spartans a 69-55 advantage after Nebraska rallied to pull within seven points.

“He’s playing some of his best basketball,” Izzo said.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Miles fired back at a heckling fan who shouted his name and said he was going to get fired. “You think so?” Miles asked. “Maybe they’ll hire you.”

Miles is 112-112 at Nebraska, which would have to give him a $2.52 million buyout if the school fires him with two years left on his contract.

“It’s been a tough run for him, but his team had enough character to not quit,” Izzo said.

Michigan State: Henry played the way Izzo hopes he can for the rest of the season. The shooting guard entered averaging just 4.9 points per game. He has not looked confident starting in place of Joshua Langford, who had season-ending foot surgery.

“He did a good job of being aggressive,” McQuaid said. “He hit that 3 and that really got him going. He was on the boards and he was looking for his shot.”

INJURY REPORT

The Spartans, already without Nick Ward and Langford, were missing Kyle Ahrens because of a back injury. Izzo isn’t sure how long Ahrens will be out. Izzo doesn’t expect Ward , who had surgery on his left hand last month, to play against Michigan.

Ward’s shooting hard was broken and repaired, adding an obstacle to his comeback.

“I’ve learned I can do a lot of things with either hand,” he said. “It’s harder, but I can do it.”

Nebraska guard Thomas Allen, who averages 8.7 points, was on the bench with a walking boot on his left foot after being injured last week against Michigan.

WELCOME BACK

Michigan State’s 1959 Big Ten championship team , which was led by Jumpin’ Johnny Green, was honored on the court during the game.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Will play Iowa at home on Sunday.

Michigan State: Hosts the rival Wolverines on Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

Missouri’s Cunningham, Porter and Levy earn All-SEC recognition

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball had three players earn All-SEC recognition, announced Tuesday by the Southeastern Conference. Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named to the All-SEC First Team for third consecutive season, senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) was named the Sixth Woman of the Year, and Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team.

In addition, Cunningham was named to the All-SEC First Team by the Associated Press for the second straight season.

With her third All-SEC First Team honor, Cunningham is the first player in program history to earn All-Conference First Team honors in three consecutive seasons. The SEC’s active career scoring leader with 2,082 points, Cunningham is currently averaging 17.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Her 72 three-pointers rank fifth in a single season in program history.

Cunningham currently ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring (17.3 ppg), third in three-point percentage (40.7), third in three-pointers per game (2.3) and third in free throw percentage (81.8). In conference play, she leads the SEC in three-point shooting 46.5 percent) and threes per game (2.9). Cunningham has reached 20 points in 13 games this season, including eight times during SEC play, and 30 points twice. Mizzou is 12-1 when she scores 20+, and 2-0 when she reaches 30 points.

The Tiger senior is one of three Mizzou players to score 2,000 career points. Among program records, Cunningham ranks first in free throws made (503), third in three-point percentage (40.5), third in scoring (2,082), third in three-pointers made (225), third in free throw percentage (83.4), fourth in points per game (16.8) and fourth in assists (378).

Porter becomes the second player in Mizzou history to be named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, and the first since Morgan Eye earned the honor in 2013. After originally medically retiring due to nagging knee injuries in June, Porter returned to the court in late December, when she came off the bench in her first seven contests. She is currently averaging 7.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 86.7 percent from the free throw line (39-for-45).

In her season debut against Arkansas State (Dec. 30), Porter became the 36th member of Mizzou’s 1,000-point club as she scored four points in 11 minutes. Porter has scored in double figures in five contests this season, all coming during the last nine games. Against Arkansas (Feb. 28), Porter tallied her eighth career 20-point game with a season-high 21 points while shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the game, which matched her career-best performance from the charity stripe.

Porter’s stout 86.7 percent clip from the line currently ranks as the fourth-best mark in a single season in Mizzou history, while her career free throw percentage of 80.0 percent ranks fifth all-time. She also ranks ninth in career rebounds with 749 rebounds and 10th in career blocks with 109.

After starting the first four games of her career, Levy provided a spark off the bench with 4.8 points and 2.1 assists per game before her season was cut short due to a season-ending knee injury. She is the third Tiger to make the All-SEC Freshman team in the last four seasons, joining teammates Cunningham in 2016 and junior guard Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) in 2017.

Among SEC freshman, Levy tallied the fourth-most assists with 58 and the seventh-most steals with 24. She scored in double figures in five games, and recorded three or more assists in 11 contests.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffon baseball moves home series to Northeastern State

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ST. JOSEPH – Due to weather and field conditions in St. Joseph, Missouri Western baseball’s scheduled weekend series with Northeastern State has been moved to Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The weekend forecast in Tahlequah also resulted in the coaches altering dates and game times. Missouri Western will play as the home team at Northeastern State in a doubleheader on Thursday, March 7 that begins at 11 a.m. and a single game on Friday at 1 p.m.

It would have been the Griffons’ fourth home series of the season, instead its the fourth-straight home series the Griffons have had to cancel or move to another site due to weather. Missouri Western canceled a series with St. Cloud State; moved its MIAA opening series with Fort Hays State to Edmond, Oklahoma and canceled a two-game non-conference series with Southern Indiana. The Griffons’ next scheduled home contest is Wednesday, March 13 against Maryville.

Missouri Western is 7-6 overall and tied atop the MIAA standings with a 5-1 conference record after taking two out of three at No. 25 Missouri Southern last week.

— MWSU Athletics —

Three Bears earn Missouri Valley Conference basketball honors

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ST. LOUIS – Led by two players on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Team and three on the MVC All-Newcomer Team, Missouri State was well represented Tuesday with the release of the league’s first round of postseason men’s basketball awards.

Earning All-MVC honors are first-team selection Tulio Da Silva (Jr., Formiga, Brazil) and third-team selection Keandre Cook (Jr., Baltimore, Md.). Missouri State also had three selections on the MVC All-Newcomer Team with Da Silva and Cook joining fellow transfer Josh Webster (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) on the five-member team.

Da Silva led the Bears this season with 14.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while converting 56.2 percent of his field goal attempts. He ranks among the league’s top 10 players in four statistical categories and is 40th nationally in field goal percentage. He led the Bears in scoring 10 games this season and in rebounding 18 times. He has also scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games at MSU.

Da Silva, a transfer from South Florida, is just the third Bear (Kyle Weems 2011 and 2012; and Alize Johnson 2017 and 2018) over the last 10 seasons to earn All-MVC first-team distinction. He and Loyola sophomore Cameron Krutwig are the only non-seniors on this year’s MVC first team. He is a two-time MVC Player of the Week (Jan. 14 and Feb. 18) and also won MVC Newcomer of the Week the same two weeks.

Cook is averaging 13.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and is second on the club with 48 3-pointers this season. He has also converted 39.2 percent of his 3-point attempts in Valley play. He has been MSU’s top scorer 11 times in 2018-19 with five 20-point efforts.

The transfer from Odessa (Texas) College has scored in double figures 23 times this year and earned MVC Player of the Week honors once (Jan. 28) and MVC Newcomer of the Week distinction twice (Nov. 12 and Jan. 28).

Webster leads the Missouri Valley Conference in assists per game (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.06). His assist-to-turnover ratio also ranks 12th nationally. The Texas Tech transfer is also averaging 7.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with 35 steals.

Webster has been MSU’s top assist man in 26 of 31 games this season while scoring in double figures 10 times.

Joining the three Missouri State players on the 2019 MVC All-Newcomer Team are UNI freshman A.J. Green and Drake senior Brady Ellingson.

Coach Dana Ford and the Bears begin the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon in St. Louis. The No. 4 seeded Bears take on fifth-seeded Bradley at 2:30 p.m. at Enterprise Center (formerly Scottrade Center) in St. Louis.

— MSU Athletics —

No. 18 K-State still in Big 12 lead after 64-52 win at TCU

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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Barry Brown had 16 points to lead four Kansas State players in double figures and the 18th-ranked Wildcats beat TCU 64-52 on Monday night to maintain a share of the Big 12 lead with one game remaining in the regular season.

Kansas State (23-7, 13-4 Big 12) went ahead to stay with a tiebreaking 13-4 run to end the first half, then scored the first 10 points after halftime.

Kamau Stokes added 15 points for the Wildcats, who remained tied with No. 8 Texas Tech (25-5, 13-4) atop the Big 12 standings. The Red Raiders, who won by 15 at slumping TCU on Saturday, finished a 70-51 home win over Texas only minutes after the K-State game ended.

Kevin Samuel had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead TCU (18-12, 6-11), while RJ Nembhard scored 12 points.

After TCU’s Desmond Bane made a second-chance 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the first half to tie the game at 23, the Wildcats started their game-turning run.

Dean Wade, who scored all of his nine points before halftime, assisted on a 3-pointer by Stokes before the 6-foot-10 senior who was the preseason All-Big 12 player of the year had a steal. Wade and Brown then traded passes down the court before Wade slammed the ball home.

Stokes hit a 3 that beat the shot clock just before halftime for a 36-27 lead at the break.

K-State led by as many as 21 points before TCU reeled off 10 points in a row, a streak that finally ended when Mike McGuirl stopped underneath and passed out to Makol Mawien for a 13-foot jumper in the lane.

Xavier Sneed had 11 points and Mawien 10.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas St.: The Wildcats have a chance to win their second Big 12 title. They were co-champions in 2012-13, coach Bruce Weber’s first season, when they shared the title with Kansas — the 14-time defending champion that won the last five titles outright. K-State started 0-2 in the Big 12 when Wade was out with a foot injury, but is 13-2 in conference play since.

TCU: The Horned Frogs lost for the sixth time in seven games, a stretch that has taken them to the NCAA Tournament bubble. Before that, they seemed to be well on their way to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament after ending a two-decade drought last year.

SENIOR NIGHT

TCU seniors Alex Robinson and JD Miller were recognized before the game. Robinson, who is from Fort Worth but played his first college season for Texas A&M, is TCU’s career assist leader at 628. Miller has played in all 133 games since he got on campus, three short of Brandon Parrish’s school record of 136.

UP NEXT

Kansas State wraps up the regular season Saturday at home against Oklahoma, on senior day for starters Wade, Brown and Stokes.

TCU plays its regular-season finale Saturday at Texas, another NCAA Tournament bubble team.

— Associated Press —

Two Bearcats earn Central Region Track & Field Athletes of the Year

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The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has named a pair of Northwest Missouri State University indoor track and field competitors as its Central Region Track & Field Athletes of the Year.

Senior Kevin Schultz (Platte City, Missouri) has earned the Central Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Schultz helped lead the Bearcats to a second-place finish at the MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with an individual point total of 22.5 points. In the high jump, Schultz has jumped over 7’0″ seven times this season. He has a season-high jump of 7’1.75″ and he holds the school record, MIAA record and was the 2019 MIAA indoor champion. Schultz ranks No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 in the region in the high jump. Schultz set the Northwest school record in the heptathlon with 5,309 points, while winning the MIAA indoor title. Schultz ranks No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the region in the heptathlon. He is also part of the NCAA automatic qualifier in the 4×400 relay at the MIAA championship meet. Schultz will compete in the heptathlon, high jump and 4×400 relay at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Freshman Omar Austin (Tampa, Florida) has been named the Central Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Austin ran the ninth-fastest Division II time all-time in the 400 meters with a time of :46.49 in winning the MIAA indoor title. He holds the second-fastest time in the nation in the 400 meters and will run at the NCAA Championships. He is also a member of the NCAA automatic qualifier in the 4×400 relay at the MIAA championship meet. Austin ran an anchor leg of :45.9 in helping Northwest take the 4×400 relay title, which automatically qualified for the NCAA meet. Austin will also compete in the 200 meters at the NCAA Championships as he possesses the eighth-best time nationally and second-best in the region (:21.32).

— Northwest Athletics —

Missouri women close regular season with 82-47 win over Alabama

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball (21-9, 10-6) dominated en route to an 82-47 victory over Alabama (13-16, 5-11) on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena for Senior Day. This year’s seniors – Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.),Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) and Lauren Aldridge (Marshfield, Mo.) – were honored prior to tipoff, and led Mizzou to victory, as they combined to score 40 points in their final games at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers began the game on fire, opening the game on a 10-0 run. Alabama battled back in the second quarter, but Mizzou once again pulled away in the second half. The 35-point victory is the largest of the season over an SEC opponent as four Tiger players scored in double digits for the third time this season. Cunningham, redshirt junior Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.), Porter and redshirt freshman Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) scored 22, 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.

Mizzou shot prolifically from beyond the arc, as Cunningham was 5-for-9 and Schuchts was a perfect 4-for-4. Aldridge knocked in two herself and junior Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) added one as Mizzou sank 15 threes, its second-highest total of the season behind the 16 Mizzou drained against Duke on Nov. 25.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou stifled Alabama on both sides of the court in the first quarter, holding the Crimson Tide offense to just two field goals while stealing the ball four times. On offense, the Tigers shot the ball productively, scoring 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Alabama narrowed the margin in the second quarter to nine, but the Tigers went on a 6-0 run in the last minute and didn’t look back for the rest of the game.

TOP TIGERS

  • In her final game at Mizzou Arena, Cunningham shot 50 percent from the field (6-for-12), as she scored 22 points, dished out five assists and pulled in eight rebounds, all team highs.
  • Porter, also in her final home game, scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and snagged three steals while grabbing seven rebounds.
  • Schuchts was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc as she scored 12 points and blocked one shot.

NOTES

  • With the win, Mizzou finishes the season 10-6 in SEC play, marking the third straight season with 10+ conference wins for the first time since 1983-85, which were the first three seasons of round-robin play in the Big Eight Conference.
  • In the final game of the regular season, the Tigers faced off against Alabama for the first time this season. With an 82-47 victory, the Tigers advance the all-time series to 7-4.
  • The Tigers launched a balanced offensive attack, with four separate players reaching double-digits. Cunningham, Porter, Schuchts and Troup all scored at least 10 points. This marks just the third time this season four players have reached double-digits.
  • Mizzou’s 82-point performance is the second highest point total recorded by the Tigers this season, trailing only the 89 points scored against Western Illinois to start the season on Nov. 6.
  • Mizzou has now won the last three senior nights, dating back to a 100-65 victory over Ole Miss (2/23/17).
  • The Tigers held Alabama to 47 points in the game, marking the 25th time in 30 games Mizzou has held its opponent to 65 points or less.
  • In her final game at Mizzou Arena, Cunningham earned a standing ovation from the crowd as she left the court. She logged 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. This marks Cunningham’s 13th 20-point game of the season and the 46th of her career at Mizzou.
  • With her 22 points, Cunningham has now logged at least 10 points in 12 straight games. She has now reached double digits in 24 of the 30 games this season.
  • Aldridge recorded seven points in her final regular season game as a Tiger, as well as five assists. This marks just the second game this season Aldridge has reached five assists, the last coming against Texas A&M (2/7/19).
  • The Tigers recorded 11 steals against the Crimson Tide, tying the team season high of 11 steals, accomplished against Texas State (12/17/18).
  • Mizzou drained 15 three pointers as a team, falling just short of a season high. The team recorded 16 threes against Duke on Nov. 25.
  • Mizzou shot 53.8 percent from the field (28-for-52), marking the 16th time in the last 18 games Mizzou has shot better than 40 percent from the field. The Tigers move to 5-0 when shooting above 50 percent from the field.

UP NEXT

Next, Mizzou travels to Greenville, S.C. for the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will be the No. 5 seed for the tournament, and will play the winner of Ole Miss/Florida on Thursday, March 7. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network, and will begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the day’s first game, which is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Griffons come up short at Washburn 93-90 in season finale

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TOPEKA, Kan. – Just four days after nearly upsetting the top-ranked team in the nation at Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western (12-18, 6-13 MIAA) had a chance in the final minute to tie the second place team in the MIAA at Washburn (22-6, 15-4 MIAA). The Griffons’ potential game-tying three was no good as Washburn survived the 93-90 scare on Saturday.

NOTABLES

  • Washburn had the advantage out of the opening tip, jumping out to a 13-point lead with nine minutes to play in the first half.
  • The Missouri Western offense then began to find its rhythm, making eight of its next 11 shots and all seven free-throw attempts on a 26-9 run to take a 39-35 lead in the first half.
  • Washburn’s three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half gave the Ichabods a 46-43 edge at the halftime break.
  • Tyus Millhollin’s 15 points and four triples led all scorers at the half.
  • Washburn stretched its lead to a game-high 18 points on a Javion Blake three-pointer while the Ichabods held the Griffons to just two field goals in the first seven minutes of the second half.
  • Lavon Hightower scored eight-straight points for the Griffons to pull Missouri Western within reach at 88-85 with less than two minutes to play.
  • After Washburn increased its lead to six in the final minute, Tyrell Carroll converted the and-one layup to make it 93-90 with 27 seconds remaining.
  • Missouri Western then fouled Washburn’s Tyler Geiman, who missed both free throws, giving the Griffons a chance to tie the game.
  • The Griffons went to Hightower for the game-tying attempt in the final seconds, but the senior’s three was off as Washburn held on for the win.
  • Hightower and Carroll combined for 19 of the team’s final 21 points.
  • Missouri Western’s 12 wins this season is more than each of the last two seasons.
  • Hightower set a new Missouri Western single-season record with 231 total rebounds (7.7 per game) this season.
  • Hightower’s 562 points this season is the third-most in the last 20 seasons at Missouri Western.

LEADERS

  • Hightower stuffed the stat sheet in his final game as a Griffon, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.
  • Tyrell Carroll posted a team-high 23 points to go along with nine boards and four assists.
  • Millhollin added 20 points and five-made three’s
  • Senior Bryan Hudson finished with 16 points.

— MWSU Athletics —

Watson helps Missouri pull away and beat South Carolina

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The youth movement has helped sustain Missouri basketball all season. A trio of freshmen — Javon Pickett, Xavier Pinson and Torrence Watson — have given hope to Tigers fans in a year where postseason play is unlikely.

Watson was the star against South Carolina on Saturday. The freshman guard scored 20 points and showcased his range, hitting a pair of clutch 3s down the stretch to keep the Gamecocks at bay. Missouri proceeded to defeat South Carolina 78-63.

The Gamecocks cut the Tigers’ lead from 10 to four with 5:54 remaining. On the next possession, Watson drilled a 3-pointer. After another Gamecocks’ basket, Watson knocked down a triple to extend Missouri’s lead to eight with 4:34 left.

Missouri (13-15, 4-12 Southeastern Conference) held off South Carolina’s push from that point on. It was Watson’s second consecutive game as the team’s leading scorer. He finished 4 for 9 from beyond the arc.

“Tonight, I was just feeling it,” Watson said. “My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball. It makes a really big difference when you see shots go in.”

Hassani Gravett led South Carolina (14-15, 9-7) with 20 points. But the team’s leading scorer for the season, forward Chris Silva, was in foul trouble all game and fouled out with 1:44 remaining. He played just 15 minutes and scored 12 points.

“(Silva) creates a lot of activity on both sides of the ball,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “When he’s in foul trouble, that’s a different team.”

The Tigers took advantage of Silva’s limited time. Forward Kevin Puryear scored 18 points, including 8 for 9 from the free-throw line. Puryear is averaging 6.9 points per game and has not scored in double-digits in conference play this season.

“I’ve really been struggling in SEC play as far as putting the ball in the hole,” Puryear said. “To finally see the ball go through the rim like that is a good feeling.”

The Gamecocks also played without their second leading scorer, freshman A.J. Lawson, who suffered a low left ankle sprain in the second half of South Carolina’s game against Alabama on Tuesday.

“Like I tried to tell the team, life is not about trying to figure out what you don’t have, it’s figuring out what you do have, and make it work,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. “We’ve got two games left and we’ve got to make it work.”

BIG PICTURE

South Carolina: The Gamecocks faced an uphill climb to reach tournament play entering Saturday. A loss to Missouri may have killed their chances. South Carolina will likely have to win out in the regular season and put together a strong conference tournament showing to be considered for the tourney.

Missouri: The Tigers have played tough in recent home games, and this was another example. Missouri is not in the tournament picture, but play like today’s could help the Tigers reach the .500 mark by the end of the season.

FADING AWAY

In his postgame press conference, Frank Martin emphasized South Carolina’s fatigue in the second half, where it was outscored 49-38 and outrebounded 19-12.

“I was scared that we’d get tired, which happened,” he said. “We’re in a place where we’re very shorthanded, obviously, and have no depth.”

FRESH ON THE SCENE

Entering Saturday, 62.2 percent of Missouri’s scoring this season had come from freshmen and sophomores. Watson’s game-high 20 points marked the third time in the last five games a freshman led the Tigers in scoring.

UP NEXT

South Carolina will play visitor to Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Missouri plays its final road game on Wednesday against Georgia.

— Associated Press —

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