COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Basketball held off No. 21 Tennessee at home on Wednesday night, defeating the Volunteers, 59-54, in front of a loud and rowdy crowd at Mizzou Arena. The win marked the Tigers' first victory against a ranked opponent since the 2013-14 season, a win over No. 18 UCLA (Dec. 7, 2013).
Though Mizzou's offense has had more efficient games this season, the Tigers were excellent defensively all night long, holding the normally potent Volunteers to just 54 points and 23.8-percent shooting from three-point range. The power forward position showed up in a big way for head coach Cuonzo Martin's squad, as junior forward Kevin Puryear (Blue Springs, Mo.) ecorded his third career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman forward Jontay Porter (Columbia, Mo.) added 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block to power the Tigers.
TURNING POINT
With the result hanging in the balance and just under two minutes to play, the Tigers were able to put the game away from the free throw line, shooting a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line during clutch time.
Puryear was up first, and sunk a pair from the line with 1:51 to go, giving the Tigers a three-point edge. After a Volunteer bucket, the Tigers and Vols traded empty possessions until there were only 14 seconds remaining in regulation. Tennessee then sent junior guard Jordan Geist (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to the charity stripe, where he calmly hit the two biggest free throws this season so far to extend the Black & Gold lead back to three points. After Tennessee's James Daniel III split his two attempts from the line, Puryear was again fouled, and he was able to make both of his free throws to ice the game away, putting the Tigers up safely for good.
TOP TIGERS
- Senior forward Jordan Barnett (St. Louis, Mo.) early got into double-figure scoring yet again, posting nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
- Junior guard Jordan Geist came alive once again in the second half, scoring all nine of his points after the break, including two clutch free throws. Geist added four rebounds and three assists.
UP NEXT
Mizzou heads back out on the road, visiting College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, and the game can be viewed on ESPN2.
