Bad second half dooms MU

By Mike Bushnell
Feb. 12, 2008

Sophomore guard Keon Lawrence goes for a lay-up in Saturday’s game against Texas A&M at Mizzou Arena.

(Click graphic to enlarge)

At the end of the first half Saturday, Missouri led No. 18 Texas A&M 30-25, all the momentum seemingly going their way. The Aggies had shot 1-for-10 from 3-point range, their big men were gasping for air and the 12,742 fans at Mizzou Arena were as loud as any MU crowd all season.

The first eight minutes of the second half were a completely different story. MU scored just two points, had six turnovers, committed seven fouls and missed eight shots. In the same time, the Aggies scored 17 points, turning a 5-point MU lead into a 10-point deficit that put the game away.

Freshman forward Justin Safford said the Tigers, who wound up losing 77-69, lost all their momentum during halftime.

“In the first half, we had great energy,” he said. “And then coming out in the second half, we were just flat. The first few minutes there was no energy whatsoever, and it allowed them to get back in their game.”

Safford said he didn’t know how the team lost all their energy.

“I really can’t tell you,” he said. “I wish I knew.”

The Tigers (13-11, 3-6 Big 12) were forced to take more jump shots in the second half as the Aggies’ defensive pressure caught up with MU.

“We took a game plan in here that we thought would work,” said Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon. “We made them take a lot more outside shots than they would have liked to probably.”

Missouri shot 50 percent in the first half and under 42 percent in the second. That they even achieved this number was largely in part to a 25-16 run in the final four minutes after the Aggies (20-4, 6-3) were already ahead by 17 points.

“When there was a sense of urgency, that’s when you saw our players play the way they should have all half,” MU coach Mike Anderson said. “Texas A&M took the fight, and I thought we responded, but we responded too late.”

During the 17-2 run, Anderson called multiple timeouts. He said the team lacks a leader on the court who other players can turn to when things aren’t going well.

“I think you have got to have somebody to calm guys down,” he said. “We have a lot of guys trying to be that person, but nobody has yet. Hopefully that leader can emerge.”

The Aggies also dominated the Tigers in the rebounding battle, snagging 42 boards to MU’s 25. Texas A&M has four players 6 feet 9 inches or taller, while junior forward Leo Lyons is Missouri’s tallest player at 6-foot-9-inches.

“It’s hard to win the rebounding battle when they’re way bigger than you,” junior forward DeMarre Carroll said. “It makes everything tougher, really.”

Junior swingman Matt Lawrence had a tough night, scoring no points in 23 minutes. He got only one shot attempt off. Anderson said Lawrence’s struggles should have created more opportunities for others to step up.

“They zeroed in on Matt,” Anderson said of the Aggies. “It should have presented a chance for other guys to step up, but we couldn’t knock shots down.”

With seven conference games left, sophomore guard Keon Lawrence, who scored 13 points in 31 minutes, echoed his coach, saying the team needs to play with more hustle than they did to start the second half Saturday.

“We’ve just got to come out with more energy - there’s a lot of basketball left,” he said. “We were just slow today, not running or nothing. It took the fight out of us.”

Share on Facebook

Bad second half dooms MU

More Feb. 12, 2008 Sports Stories

Most recent Sports Stories