clark at mizzou
Michael Gulledge
68
VMI VMI 2-1,0-0 SoCon
106
Winner Missouri MO 3-0,0-0 SEC
VMI VMI
2-1,0-0 SoCon
68
Final
106
Missouri MO
3-0,0-0 SEC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
VMI VMI 40 28 68
Missouri MO 50 56 106

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Strong first half not enough in VMI loss at Mizzou

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The VMI basketball team showed fight and effort in the opening half against SEC foe Missouri but could not sustain the energy as the Keydets fell by a 106-68 score to the Tigers Sunday night at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.
 
With VMI playing without SoCon Preseason Player of the Year Rickey Bradley, Jr., forward TJ Johnson again showed out for the Keydets to finish with 31 points on the day, including 21 in the first half.  His output came up just one point shy of matching his career high set Friday night in VMI's 78-74 victory at Southern Indiana.  He also led VMI with seven rebounds and earned a new career high in three-pointers with six made throughout the game.
 

 
Game Summary
The Keydets kept pace with the Tigers for much of the opening half and were tied at 22-all with nine minutes remaining before the half. Mizzou slowly pulled away down the stretch and led by as many as 11 points with 1:44 left before Johnson hit a three to make the score 48-40. The Tigers would go into the break with a 50-40 advantage.
 
Mizzou clamped down on defense in the latter half and held the Keydets to 28 points over the final 20 minutes, placing a high focus on Johnson to hold the Belton, Texas, native to 10 points after halftime. The Keydets also hit a five-minute stretch early in the second half without a field goal as Missouri began to pull the game out of contention.
 

 
Key Stats
*After Johnson's 31 points, freshman Mario Tatum, Jr. also finished in double figures with 15 points including three treys
*Mizzou scored 30 points off 17 VMI turnovers and used their height to their advantage by scoring 60 points in the paint
*The Tigers logged 30 second-chance points off 17 offensive boards during the contest
*Mark Mitchell led the Tigers with 24 points as he went 10-13 from the charity stripe. Anthony Robinson II was close behind with 20 points by going 4-5 from three-point range
 
Up Next
The Keydets return home to face VU Lynchburg Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Cameron Hall









 
Print Friendly Version