Feb. 10, 2005

Recap |  Box Score

Missouri at UNLV Game Notes

February 9, 2005

Thomas & Mack Arena - Las Vegas, NV

Final - 74-71 UNLV

Missouri Team Notes

- The Tigers fall to 10-13 overall and are 10-4 at home, 0-6 on the road and 0-3 in neutral court contests on the season.

- The Tigers used their seventh different starting line up of the season on Wednesday starting freshmen Jason Horton and Marshall Brown, sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner and junior Jimmy McKinney.

- After trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, the Tigers tied the contest at 67-67 with 1:15 left in the contest, only to lose, 74-71.

- The Tigers equaled a season low with only seven turnovers on the night including only two turnovers in the second half.

- The game at UNLV concludes a three-game road swing and also was the Tigers final regular season non-conference contest. They finished the regular season with an 8-6 record in non-conference games.

- The Tigers still lead the all-time series with the Runnin' Rebels, 3-2.

- Head Coach Quin Snyder is now 110-76 during his six years at Mizzou.

- The Tigers led the contest at halftime, 37-31. They have led each of their last three contests at the break but have dropped all three. Prior to the three-game roadie, Mizzou had been 9-0 when leading at half on the year.

- Mizzou has now lost five straight games (its longest streak every under head coach Quin Snyder). They have also dropped eight of their last nine games.

- The Tigers now return home for three of their next four contests. They welcome Oklahoma to Mizzou Arena for a 12:30 p.m., tip that will be broadcast regionally on ABC Sports.

Missouri Player Notes

- Sophomores Linas Kleiza and Thomas Gardner scored 24 and 23 points, respectively. This marks the first time this season that two Tigers have reached the 20-point barrier in the same contest. In fact, the last time that occurred was against No. 6 Oklahoma State on Feb. 6, 2004 in Columbia when Rickey Paulding scored a game-high 31 and Arthur Johnson registered 29 on the night.

- With his 24 points and eight boards, sophomore Linas Kleiza led Mizzou in both scoring and rebounding for the seventh time this season. He has recorded eight or more boards 10 times this season.

- Kleiza was 9-of-17 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line. The nine field goals he made equals a career-best he set against Montana earlier this season.

- Sophomore Thomas Gardner's 23 points was a career-high, eclipsing his previous career mark of 20 points he set against UNLV last season in Columbia.

- Sophomore Thomas Gardner's eight field goals equals a career-best and his 20-field goal attempts was a career-high.

- Junior Kevin Young's streak of 22 consecutive starts ended on Wednesday when Linas Kleiza took his spot in the opening introductions.

- Sophomore Thomas Gardner's four three-point field goals equals a career best.

- Junior Jimmy McKinney started his 79th consecutive game against the Rebels

- Sophomore Thomas Gardner celebrated his 20th Birthday on Tuesday.

And one more for the truly bizarre file ...

- Jay Spoonhour, who joined the Mizzou Staff this past summer, returned to UNLV for the first time since being replaced as UNLV's head coach. He was interim head coach there for the last 10 games of the year in 2004-05 after three years as an assistant under his father Chalie Spoonour..

o We all knew that part, but the writer is ascertaining that with Coach Watkins' return to College Station and Spoonhour's return to Vegas, this would have to mark the first time in College Basketball History that former head coaches face off with their former squads in back-to-back games.