MU Tigers break Cowboys' streak
Published Feb. 20, 2007
STILLWATER, Okla. — When the Missouri men's basketball team looks back on this season, it might get hung up on its inexplicable home losses to Iowa State and Nebraska. But a team that until Saturday lacked a key victory to reference finally got one in Stillwater, Okla., a place where the Tigers had not won since the Big 12 conference was formed in 1996.
After trailing the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys 14-3 early, the Tigers rallied to tie the game at halftime. They pulled away in the second half, stunning the sold-out crowd of 14,044 at Gallagher-Iba Arena with a 75-64 win. The loss snapped the Cowboys' 17-game home winning streak, the ninth-longest streak in the country.
Missouri (16-9), which has now won two in a row, can expect a berth in next month's NIT. During the post-game news conference, coach Mike Anderson said he is proud of the team.
"This was a gutsy performance," he said. "It was a blue-collar effort by our team. We were hungry tonight."
Despite being out-rebounded by and committing more turnovers than Oklahoma State (19-7), the Tigers won because they shot 63 percent in the second half, compared to the Cowboys' 38 percent. Junior guard Matt Lawrence was 5-for-7 from 3-point land and said MU took good shots late in the game.
"We got high-percentage shots in the second half," Lawrence said. "We were smart with the ball and hit big shots."
After Missouri took a 53-43 lead, the Cowboys went on a run to cut the deficit to five points with five minutes left. But junior forward Marshall Brown hit a demoralizing 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer and Oklahoma State never recovered. Brown said it was about being at the right place at the right time.
"We all were looking for open shots, and the ball came to me and I was lucky to knock it down," Brown said.
Brown scored nine of his 12 points in the second half.
But perhaps the game's star was freshman guard Keon Lawrence, who had 18 points, including 11 in the second half. Anderson said this type of performance justified making him a starter.
"Keon's confidence is continuing to grow," he said. "He's a hard match-up and he was made to play up-tempo basketball."
Keon Lawrence said he has begun to believe in himself late in games.
"I'm really beginning to trust myself with the ball," he said. "We've all begun to build confidence together as a team."
Three plays later in the second half, Keon Lawrence had no trouble knifing through the Cowboy press. Oklahoma State senior forward Mario Boggan said his team wasn't expecting that type of game from him.
"We didn't expect (Keon Lawrence) to do what he did today," he said. "No way did we think he'd put in 18 points. We let him get too many open shots."
Although Boggan said he didn't think Missouri's defensive pressure played a role in the Cowboys' loss, coach Sean Sutton said he thought it was a big factor.
"The pressure bothered our guards today," he said. "It was tough to play against. That's why we shot so badly in the second half."
Anderson said the win might not help the Tigers win a bid to the NCAA tournament, but it helps the team prepare for its next game against Oklahoma on Tuesday at Mizzou Arena.
"This gives our team some confidence," he said. "The only thing we can control is our next game. This win definitely does feel good, though."