Tigers fight off No. 11 Kansas State
Riding a seven-game win streak, Missouri prepared to face No. 11 Kansas State in the Tigers’ toughest challenge yet this season.
Though it wasn’t all smooth sailing, Missouri took a step in the right direction early in the conference season.
The Tigers held off visiting Kansas State for a 74-68 victory at Mizzou Arena. With the win, Missouri’s win streak on their home court is pushed to 30 games.
A 3-pointer from senior guard Zaire Taylor with less than a minute left in the game gave Missouri the lead after a back-and-forth second half. The Tigers put the finishing touches on the Wildcats when senior forward Keith Ramsey stole a pass and senior guard J.T. Tiller fed it to sophomore forward Laurence Bowers for a dunk with one second left.
Taylor finished the game with 14 points and Bowers was right behind him with 13 and eight rebounds.
Despite building a 10-point lead in the first half, Kansas State couldn’t shake off a relentless Missouri defense and the teams went into the locker rooms at halftime with the Tigers leading by three.
The Wildcats led by five with six minutes left in the second half before Missouri closed the gap.
In a physical game, the Tigers finished with 24 fouls to the Wildcats’ 32. Two Kansas State players fouled out of the game.
Missouri’s 30-game home court win streak is four off the school record and second-best in the nation behind Kansas’ 51-game streak.
Road trips to Texas Tech on Wednesday and Oklahoma next Saturday now await the Tigers, who improved to 13-3 with the win.