TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Mizzou Men's Basketball drained a school-and-SEC record 31 free throws without a miss, but lost to Alabama 88-74, Saturday at Coleman Coliseum.

Mizzou (9-8, 1-4 SEC) was 31-for-31 from the free throw line – good for the fifth-most free throws in a game without a miss in NCAA history – and eclipsed the previous program record of 23 consecutive free throws made. Eight different Tigers contributed to the effort at the charity stripe, led by Xavier Pinson, who converted 9-of-9 attempts at the foul line en route to 11 points.

Dru Smith scored a team-high 18 points and added four steals. Junior Mark Smith contributed 15 points, while Huntsville, Ala., native Kobe Brown tossed in 11 points in his return to his home state.

The Tigers withstood a 44-percent (11-of-25) effort from beyond the arc from Alabama (10-7, 3-2 SEC) in the first half thanks to making 21 of their 31 free throws in the opening 20 minutes. Mizzou trailed by seven at the break and clawed to within three on multiple occasions, but a late Crimson Tide surge pushed Alabama to the win.

TURNING POINT

Mizzou senior Reed Nikko capped a 6-2 Tiger run with a tough bucket in the paint to cut the Alabama lead to 73-70. The Crimson Tide responded with a 9-2 run on the back of free throws and a contested 3-pointer from John Petty, Jr. The spurt put Alabama back up by 10, and the Tide prevented another Mizzou surge in the final minutes.

NOTES

• Dru Smith reached double figures for the fifth time in his last seven games, leading the team with 18 points. Smith added six rebounds and four steals. He has three straight multi-steal games and leads the SEC in league play with 3.5 steals per game.
• Mark Smith finished the day with 15 points, adding four rebounds.
• Kobe Brown scored 11 points in his first appearance off the bench, going 5-of-7 from the field.

NOTES

• Mizzou finished 31-for-31 from the free throw line – the most free throws without a miss in a single game in both SEC history and Mizzou history. The mark is tied for fifth in NCAA history.
• Mizzou set a program record with 31 consecutive free throws without a miss, eclipsing the previous record of 23.
• Dru Smith is the fourth Mizzou player to have 18 points, six rebounds and four steals in a game since 2010-11. First since Kim English (at Texas A&M; Feb. 18, 2012)
• Xavier Pinson is the first Mizzou player to shoot 100-percent from the free throw line (minimum nine attempts) since Wes Clark did so against Ole Miss (Feb. 3, 2016). Pinson is the ninth Tiger to achieve the feat since 2010-11.

Up Next

Mizzou returns home to take on Texas A&M on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Tip off at Mizzou Arena is set for 8 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

For all the latest on Mizzou's Men's Basketball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @MizzouHoops.