Lexington, Ky. – The Missouri men’s basketball team fought until the end with the nation’s sixth-ranked team but in the end, Kentucky emerged with a 90-77 victory inside Rupp Arena on Tuesday night. The Tigers are now 8-7 on the season and 0-2 in SEC play, while the Wildcats improve to 12-2 and 2-0 versus conference foes.
Graduate Noah Carter led Mizzou with his first 20-point game of the season as three Tigers totaled at least 18 in the contest. Classmate Sean East II added 19 points with junior Tamar Bates scoring 18 of his own.
Kentucky used a strong start to the contest to race to a lead it would not relinquish. The Wildcats made 12 of their first 17 field goals, which included 5-of-7 from 3-point range to pull in front by 14, 35-21.
Mizzou, however, would fight back and used five-straight makes of its own during a 13-2 run to pull within three, 37-34. Kentucky would then head into the intermission with a five-point edge, 47-42.
The Tigers pulled to within three to start the second frame but Kentucky answered with back-to-back baskets to quickly pull back in front by seven. For the next 15-plus minutes, the UK lead would bounce between seven and 11 points as neither team had more than a 4-0 run for the remainder of the game. Mizzou had a chance to cut into the deficit but missed 13-straight field goals after the 10-minute mark as Kentucky secured the 90-77 victory.
Mizzou made 42.6 percent of its field goals on the day with an 8-of-28 performance from 3-point range. Kentucky, meanwhile, connected on 50.0 percent of its attempts, which included 7-of-23 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats also made 27-of-32 from the free-throw line in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to CoMo and host South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. First tip is set for 2:30 p.m. with the Cardinals Caravan visiting Mizzou Arena prior to the game.
