Missouri coach Dennis Gates showed a side of himself fans hadn’t seen since he took over the program last season.
Gates became visibly agitated when the Tigers fell behind South Carolina State 29-13 on their home court Wednesday. The dreadful start came on the heels of a shocking 73-72 loss to Jackson State at home in the game before.
“It’s probably the most animated I’ve been on the sidelines,” Gates said. “That’s just what was needed. I had to challenge some referees on some calls, I had to challenge our players, I had to challenge the game a little bit and I had to obviously let them know we were, who I was.”
Missouri (4-2) responded and rallied to an 82-59 victory. Now the Tigers will look to play a more complete game when they host Loyola Maryland (1-4) on Saturday in Columbia.
Gates is building this team around forward Noah Carter (12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) and guards Sean East II (15.2 points per game) and Nick Honor (13.0). But he is still trying to define roles for the 10 other players who have either started games or played significant stretches.
The Tigers were completely out of sorts early against South Carolina State.
“You probably saw who I was tonight based on who I am in practice,” Gates said. “I ultimately take a step back, allow these guys to play, but when it’s in disarray like it was tonight, then I have to step in and do my job and ultimately get it back on track.”
Loyola Maryland is coming off a 94-79 loss to cross-town rival UMBC. Their only victory came at Brown 77-75 in overtime on Nov. 11.
The Greyhounds are led by 5-foot-8 guard Deon Perry (13.4 points, 3.8 assists per game) and 6-foot-10 forward Golden Dike (10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds)
“Deon is a tremendous talent,” Loyola Maryland coach Tavaras Hardy told Press Box Sports. “Sometimes people see his size and they understand he’s talented, but they think he’s limited.
“I think he can be a high scorer, high-assist guy, but also be cerebral point guard who can run a team.”
–Field Level Media