ORLANDO, Fla. - A second half surge of 45 points powered Mizzou Men's Basketball (2-2) to a comeback victory over Tulane (1-4) to finish the Tire Pros Invitational, with the Tigers claiming a 67-62 win at the HP Field House. Sophomore guard K.J. Walton (Indianapolis, Ind.) was a main component of the solid play after the break, as he scored 18 of his career-high 20 points in the second half.
Joining Walton in double figures in the scoring column were freshman guard Frankie Hughes (Cleveland, Ind.) with 14 points (6-of-13 FG, 2-of-7 3PT) and sophomore forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.) with 11 points (5-of-10 FG, 1-of-2 FT).
The Tigers were energized after the halftime break, especially Puryear, with Mizzou cutting Tulane's 32-22 lead to three points (36-33) with 15:55 left in the game. Puryear sank four-straight baskets during the run to help the Tigers back into the game.
If the first five minutes of the second half were Puryear's, the next five minutes were Walton's. From 13:30 in the second half to 8:29, Walton made four lay-ups, shot 3-for-3 from the free throw line and recorded two steals and two rebounds.
Mizzou had work to do in the second half after the opening period left the Tigers down by 10 points at the break. Head coach Kim Anderson's group more than doubled its first half scoring output, also shooting 53.6 percent from the field (15-of-28 FG). The Tigers' shooting efficiency ramped up considerably from their first half performance of 33.3 percent (10-of-30 FG).
Additional focus was placed on getting to the free throw line by the Tigers. All 16 of Mizzou's free throw attempts in the game came after halftime, with the Black & Gold converting 13 of them (81.3 percent). Walton finished the game sinking 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Senior forward Russell Woods (Chicago, Ill.) led on the boards for Mizzou, pulling down 10 rebounds to match his career best. Sophomore guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) followed Woods up with seven boards of his own.
The Tigers next return home to Mizzou Arena to face Northwestern State on Saturday, Nov. 26, with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network + (http://es.pn/2fczYpH). Tickets are available at the Mizzou Ticket Office by visiting in-person, calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS (573-884-PAWS in Mid-Missouri) or online at mutigers.com/buytickets.
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team at @MizzouHoops (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
