COLUMBIA -- It was a game of momentum for Missouri.
The Tigers started and finished hot from 3 to build a 92-85 win against the Penn Quakers on Friday at Mizzou Arena.
Missouri hit six of its first seven shots, all from beyond the arc, to open an 18-5 lead in the first 3:30.
“Those made shots sort of put us in a jump shooting habit and I didn’t want to get into that early,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “But they played a style that forced us to use one of our strengths and that’s shooting the basketball.”
Kobe Brown got the day started with his first of two 3s, then Brown dished one of his three assists to Noah Carter for the first of his six 3s on a 28-point night. Carter led the game on 8-of-15 shooting overall and 6-of-9 from 3 along with six free throws.
“I’ve been telling everybody, ‘I just need one shot to go in,’” Carter said. “I got that opportunity and it went down. Just carried on from there.”
But once Clark Slajchert found Max Lorca-Lloyd cutting through the lane for a dunk, the momentum shifted.
Penn scored 14 of the next 16 points to cut the Tiger lead all the way to 22-21 at 11:44.
The Quakers took their first lead when Jordan Dingle swung a pass to Jonah Charles for one of his co team-high four 3-pointers, putting Penn up 24-22 with 11:26 left in the first half.
“(Penn) didn’t panic like a veteran team doesn’t on the road,” Gates said.
Missouri’s Nick Honor answered with one of his three 3s to retake the lead, but the Quakers could not be stopped on offense as they jumped back out to a 32-25 lead to complete a 25-5 run across seven and a half minutes.
Missouri’s DeAndre Gholston drove through contact for a layup to end an 0-of-7 stretch for the Tigers and cut the Penn lead to 32-27.
The Quakers extended back to a 37-31 lead when Nick Spinoso spun down the baseline for a layup with 3:14 left in the first half, but the Tigers began to come back when D’Moi Hodge turned a steal into a traditional three-point play, drawing a charge on a layup and hitting the free throw to bring the Tigers within 39-35 with 2:16 left before halftime.
Missouri used an 8-0 run near the end of the half to come all the way back and take a 43-41 lead after Tre Gomillion dished one of his game-high five assists to Hodge for a 3 from the left corner, three of Hodge’s 17 points, with 38 seconds left. But two Penn free throws sent the matchup into the break tied at 43.
“That 8-0 run in the final two minutes, to be able to tie the game, I thought that was crucial for us and gave us confidence going into halftime,” Gates said.
Missouri made 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) of its shots in the first half and 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from 3.
The Tigers were saved in the opening half by forcing 12 Penn turnovers leading to a 19-3 advantage on points off turnovers.
“What I liked the most is we cut down our fouls,” Gates said. “We are learning how to play as hard as we can without fouling 94 feet from the basket. … The other part of it is, from those turnovers, you’re able to play and get some easy looks.”
Missouri opened the second half strong, building a 54-48 lead after Hodge found Gomillion for a left-corner 3 with 15:54 left, but Penn came back to tie at 57 with 12:26 left after an offensive rebound turned into two free throws for Dingle.
The teams stayed close to a tie at 67, then Missouri started to build after an Honor 3 from the left wing.
Missouri went on an 8-0 run to build to an 83-71 lead after a Hodge 3 from the left wing with 2:44 left to play.
The Tigers controlled the game the rest of the way, staying at least eight points ahead and making nine free throws in the final two minutes.
Missouri ended shooting 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) overall and 16-of-35 (45.7 percent) from 3 as well as 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line.
“We didn’t know when, but we knew we’d be able to win games off our shooting ability,” Gates said.
Missouri forced 19 turnovers, dished out 20 assists on 28 makes and only turned the ball over nine times.
“Ending the game with 20 assists and nine turnovers, that’s a significant stat,” Gates said. “I don’t care what level you’re playing at, to have a positive assist to turnover ratio like that and still have some unforced turnovers in there, that’s remarkable and shows an unselfish spirit.”
Along with Carter’s 28 points, he led the game with eight rebounds, while Hodge had 17 points and three steals, Honor had 16 points and three steals, and Gomillion had 11 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Missouri (2-0) will continue an extended homestand to start the season when it hosts Lindenwood at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Penn (0-2) will try to get in the win column when it hosts Towson at 4 p.m. Sunday.