Nov. 29, 2005
Missouri vs. UMKC
Norm Stewart Court at Mizzou Arena
November 29, 2005 - 7 p.m.
Game Notes
Tonight's matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood, and the Tigers' 199th regular-season meeting with an in-state school.
The two teams combined to shoot 33-116 from the field for a shooting percentage of 28.4 percent.
The teams combined for nine turnovers - six by Mizzou and three by UMKC - in the first eight minutes of the contest.
Missouri Team Notes
The 42 points yielded by the Tigers on the evening are the fewest since they recorded a 45-42 win over DePaul in Maui on Nov. 24, 1997.
Mizzou held the Kangaroos to season lows in points (42), field goals (15), field goal percentage (24.6), 3-point field goals (3), 3-point field goal percentage (13.0), free throws (9), free throw attempts (13), free throw percentage (69.2) and assists (6).
The Tigers went on a 27-9 run from the 17:38 to the 7:22 mark of the second half, increasing its lead from 24-17 to 51-26 and breaking the game wide open.
Though Mizzou was held to a season-low first-half field goal percentage of 26.1, they managed to hold the Kangaroos to 17.2 percent shooting from the field and 9.1 percent from beyond the arc - both season lows for opponents in the first half of games.
Mizzou opened the second half on a 9-3 run over the first 6:04 of the frame to take a 15-point lead with 13:43 left in the game.
Mizzou improved its record in regular season games against in-state teams to 143-56, and 3-1 in the Quin Snyder era.
With their win, the Tigers claimed victory in back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Kansas on March 6, 2005, and Nebraska on March 10.
Mizzou has never lost to a team from the Mid-Con Conference, improving its record versus the conference to 15-0.
Missouri Player Notes
Junior guard Thomas Gardner notched his second career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds against UMKC. The performance also marked his first double-figure rebound game since last season's opener against Brown.
Junior guard Thomas Gardner tied the career high in rebounds he set in last season's opener with 12 boards against the Kangaroos.
With 11 rebounds against UMKC and 13 against Northwestern State, senior center Kevin Young has pulled down double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
Sophomore guard Jason Horton collected five rebounds in the first half, tying the career-high he set against Iowa State on March 2, 2005. He finished the game with six boards to establish a new career best.
Freshman guard Matt Lawrence recorded his first career points as a collegian at the 15:59 mark of the second half, a three-point field goal that gave the Tigers a 13-point lead.
Junior guard James Douglas recorded his first career point when he banked in a free throw with 2:12 left to play.
Junior guard Thomas Gardner, who entered the season with a career average of 2.4 rebounds per game, has pulled down at least four boards in every game so far this year. With his 12-rebound effort against UMKC, he raised his season output to 6.7 rebounds per contest.
UMKC Team Notes
UMKC's 15 first-half points are the fewest in a half in the history of Mizzou Arena. The previous low was the 16 points the Tigers scored in the first half of their Dec. 19, 2004, game with Indiana. The Kangaroos' five field goals in the first half was also the lowest one-half total in Mizzou Arena's history.
The Kangaroos entered the game shooting 48.6 percent from the field this season, but shot only 24.6 percent against the Tigers. In addition, they had been shooting almost 10 percent better than their opponents this season, but found themselves on the wrong end of an 8.1 percent deficit when the Mizzou game was over.
The Kangaroos were held scoreless for the first 5:07 of the game, managing only three field goal attempts and no shots from the free throw line in that span.
At the 9:18 mark of the first half, UMKC had as many team fouls as points, with seven each. They would hold that distinction for until the 8:19 mark, a span of 0:59, when junior forward Dee Ayuba connected on a field goal to make the score 9-9. At the 7:41 mark, they regained that synergy when they recorded their ninth team foul and would hold onto it until the 5:59 mark, a span of 1:42, when they picked up their 10th foul of the half. With 3:59 remaining in the half and the Kangaroos still with 11 points, junior center Kyle Spears picked up a foul to equal the two totals yet again. Junior guard Quinton Day would hit a pair of free throws 14 seconds later nix the match one more time.
UMKC Player Notes
Junior guard Quinton Day entered the game leading the Mid-Con Conference with a scoring average of 27.5 points per game, but managed to score only seven points on 2-of-14 shooting. He also led his conference is assists per game, with 6.5 per outing, prior to the Mizzou game, but dished out only four against the Tigers.
Junior guard Quinton Day's seven points snapped a two-game streak in which he scored 20 or more points per contest.
Junior forward Dee Ayuba led UMKC with 11 points, but that total was nine points shy of his season average of 20.0 points per game.
Two members of UMKC's starting five against Mizzou are natives of the Show Me State. Sophomore guard Tim Blackwell is from Cameron and junior guard Quinton Day is from Kansas City.