Kobe Brown and DeAndre Gholston scored 18 points apiece as No. 20 Missouri defeated Vanderbilt 85-82 Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
D’Moi Hodge scored 17 points and Noah Carter added 16 for Missouri (13-2, 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference).
Liam Robbins led Vanderbilt (8-7, 1-1) with 16 points. Jordan Wright scored 14 points, Ezra Manjon had 12 and Trey Thomas added 10.
Vanderbilt outrebounded Missouri 46-27, but the Tigers made 27-of-31 free throw attempts while the Commodores made just 8-of-12.
The Commodores broke to a quick 10-2 lead with Thomas and Colin Smith each making a 3-pointer.
Hodge stopped that Vanderbilt run with a 3-pointer, then he put the Tigers ahead 21-20 lead with a 3-point jumper, a traditional three-point play and another 3-pointer.
Aidan Shaw’s alley-oop dunk conversion put the Tigers up 31-25, but the Commodores closed the first half with a 9-3 run to tie the game. Thomas hit another 3-point jumper and Robbins scored four points to spark that strong finish.
With Brown limited to seven first-half minutes after earning two early fouls, Vanderbilt dominated the paint and outrebounded Missouri 25-11.
Missouri shot just 39.3 percent from the floor in the first half and missed 11 of 16 shots from 3-point range. But the Tigers forced nine turnovers and went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
The Commodores scored the first four points of the second half. The Tigers answered with a 19-4 surge, with Carter scoring nine points, to take a 53-42 lead.
Vanderbilt countered by repeatedly beat Missouri’s traps with a 17-3 run to take a 59-56 lead. Wright got to the rim for three layups and a three-point play behind the pressure.
Brown stabilized the Tigers by scoring seven points during a three-possession spurt and Missouri made 11 free throws during the final 3:08 to close out the victory.
–Field Level Media