COLUMBIA, Mo. – Connecting at an 84.6-percent clip from the field in the second half, University of Missouri men’s basketball raced back to defeat California, 98-93, on Tuesday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge. Mizzou moves to 7-1 with the victory, while the Golden Bears drop to 6-2 on the season.
MIZZOU LEADERS
Sophomore Anthony Robinson II led the offense for Mizzou with a career-high 29 points along with six assists – committing zero turnovers – and a pair of steals. Robinson capitalized on trips to the free throw line, making a personal-best 13 attempts. Junior Mark Mitchell recorded 21 points, a season-high, along with five rebounds in the winning effort.
Senior Tamar Bates added 15 points, with 13 coming in the Tigers’ dominant second half. Bates also matched a season-best with three steals.
Freshman Peyton Marshall provided a second-half spark, coming off the bench and recording six points, three rebounds and a pair of steals in 14 minutes of action.
GAME RECAP
The Tigers and Bears battled closely early in a first half that consisted of five ties and four lead changes before Cal closed the half on a 17-2 stretch, giving the Golden Bears a 51-35 halftime advantage.
Mizzou wasted no time cutting into the Cal lead out of the half, going on a 12-1 scoring run led by six points from Bates. The run brought the Tigers to within five, 54-49. Missouri reclaimed the lead with another nine-point stretch, ignited by a Robinson jumper and seven points from Marques Warrick, giving the Tigers a 69-64 lead.
Overall, the Tigers made a staggering 15-straight shots from the field, spanning 9:37 of game action from the 16:05 mark to 6:28 left in the game. By the time the streak ended, what was once an 18-point deficit was now a 79-75 Tigers lead.
The Bears came back to tie things at 79 apiece before Mizzou jumped back ahead with a 6-0 run. Missouri used its defense to increase its lead, as a Robinson steal turned Mitchell layup started the stretch, and a Mitchell takeaway and layup on his own capped the spurt.
TEAM STATS
Missouri’s 84.6 percent clip resulted in 63 second half points, most for the team in a half since 2001-. The Tigers also increased their defensive pressure, holding the Bears to 30.8 percent from three in the second half.
Mizzou also won the points in the paint battle over Cal, 50-42.
UP NEXT
Missouri welcomes Kansas to Mizzou Arena on Sunday, Dec. 8 for the Border War. Tipoff is set for noon on ESPN2.
