COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men's Basketball came up short at Mizzou Arena, 66-58, on Tuesday night at the hands of the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats. Redshirt junior guard Ronnie Suggs posted a season-high 13 points and connected on three triples to lead the Tiger offense that found its stride in the second half. Mizzou managed to win both the turnover and rebounding battles, committing just 12 turnovers to Kentucky's 14 and outrebounding the Wildcats by a margin of 34-28, including 16-6 on the offensive glass.
After trailing by 18 at the break, Mizzou opened up the second half by scoring the first five points. The Tigers kept the pressure on throughout the half and got as close as six points following a three-pointer from Torrence Watson in the final 20 seconds. A three-pointer from Watson at the 2:38 mark as well as a basket from Ronnie Suggs with 1:27 remaining brought the Tigers within 10 and forced Kentucky to use a timeout. Mizzou outscored Kentucky 35-25 in the second half.
TURNING POINT
After keeping it close for the first eight minutes, a flagrant foul sent Kentucky to the charity stripe to shoot a pair. Both shots were converted and were a part of a 9-0 run which saw Mizzou's one-point lead turn quickly to an eight-point deficit. It was the last lead that the Tigers held in the game and they never pulled closer than five points the rest of the way.
TOP TIGERS
- Jordan Geist scored 11 points to reach double figures in his eighth consecutive contest as well as 19 of the last 22 games
- Ronnie Suggs connected on 3-of-5 from behind the arc and posted 13 points, a season-high for the transfer from Bradley.
- Javon Pickett shot 4-of-7 from the field and added three rebounds and a pair of assists, finishing with nine points.
GAME NOTES
- Geist scores double-digits for his eighth game in a row, he has now scored in double-digits 19 times this season
- Suggs recorded a season-high 13 points (his previous high was nine against LSU on Jan. 26).
- Mizzou grabbed 34 total rebounds, the ninth time the Tigers achieved that clip this season.
- Mizzou grabbed a season-high 16 offensive boards for the second consecutive game. It marked the 10th time the Tigers have had double-digit offensive rebounds.
- At halftime Mizzou honored its all-time leading scorer, Derrick Chievous, by retiring his No. 3 jersey. Chievous was joined on the court by his family and former teammate Lynn Hardy.
UP NEXT
Mizzou travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take on Florida on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.
For all the latest on Mizzou Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouHoops).
