COLUMBIA -- The 3-pointers keep falling for Missouri.
After back-to-back wins where the Tigers combined to shoot 30-of-60 from deep, Missouri once again neared 50 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 13-of-27 to lead an 87-77 win over the LSU Tigers. It was the first time Missouri has beat LSU in the past nine matchups.
“I didn’t share that with our guys, but I think that’s an important understanding to the level of focus our guys were able to play with,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have a dropoff and it showed with the level of focus our guys approached the game with and started the game with. … There was some pep to their step and that came right back to our shooting.”
Kobe Brown continued to show why he is one of the members of the National Player of the Year watch list, connecting on 10-of-11 shots, 5-of-6 3s, for 26 points, while bringing down eight rebounds, dishing out five assists, poking away two steals and blocking one shot.
“Kobe Brown can shoot the leather off the ball,” Noah Carter said. “The first shot he hit, I gave him a little flip back, he shot it and I thought, ‘Oh ya, it’s gonna be a good night.’”
The shots were falling early at Mizzou Arena, with Missouri jumping out to an 8-0 lead after Noah Carter connected on the first two of his three 3s, to help build 14 points, first off one of Brown’s assists and the second off one of Isiaih Mosley’s three.
The home Tigers connected on 5-of-9 3s to start the game and build a 17-9 lead with 13:54 left in the first half after one of Brown’s 3s.
Mosley then turned an Aidan Shaw steal into a 3, three of his 12 points, from the top of the key to put Missouri up 22-11.
Missouri built as far as an 18-point lead after Brown took a downcourt pass from Sean East following a defensive rebound and pulled up for 3 from the right wing, putting the black and gold in front 34-16.
“It’s fun when you get in a rhythm like that,” Carter said. “We played unselfishly and we got shooters on this team that can straight up shoot the ball.”
LSU cut the lead as close as nine in the first half on multiple occasions.
A Justice Hill layup, two of his 13 points, brought the visiting Tigers within 34-25, then two Adam Miller free throws, two of his 11 points, brought them within 36-27. LSU cut the lead to single digits one more time at 39-30 after a KJ Williams 3, three of his team-high 15 points, but Missouri extended back to a 13-point advantage at halftime after a Mo Diarra layup with 46 seconds left.
“LSU did a good job of figuring out how to slow the pace down, whether it was finding water on the floor or attempting to make sure their shoes were tied, different things like that. I thought they disrupted things they needed to disrupt,” Gates said. “But ultimately, I thought our guys stayed with a level of focus.”
Missouri maintained a double-digit lead through the second half, with the home Tigers extending as far as 18 points in front multiple times and LSU cutting to within 11 at multiple points. Missouri put a punctuation mark on the end of the game when Diarra turned a defense rebound into a downcourt assist to D’Moi Hodge streaking down the floor for a one-handed slam in transition.
The dunk put Missouri up 87-72 before LSU scored the final five points.
Missouri kept the ball moving through the contest, dishing out 26 assists as a team on 33 made shots with four players reaching double figures. Along with Brown, Carter and Mosley, DeAndre Gholston scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting with three 3s.
“There’s a level of unselfishness that we’re playing with and a level of confidence,” Gates said.
Missouri made 33-of-59 (55.9 percent) from the field, 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) from 3 and 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) from the free-throw line. Missouri took only four attempts from beyond the arc in the second half, making two.
LSU made 27-of-66 (40.9 percent) overall, 11-of-33 (33.3 percent) from deep and 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the free-throw line.
Missouri (17-5, 5-4 SEC) will look to keep its three-game winning streak alive when it hits the road to play Mississippi State at 5 p.m. Saturday.
LSU (12-10, 1-8) will try to break its nine-game losing streak when it plays host to Alabama at 3 p.m. Saturday.