Mizzou hoops comeback falls short in SEC tournament opener

By: Nathalie Jones

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (KMIZ) -- The Tigers rallied from down 14, but could not come away with the win against Kentucky, falling 78-72.

Mizzou only led for 20 seconds in the first 20 minutes of action at Bridgestone Arena, as guard Jayden Stone hit a game-opening triple to go up 3-0. However, a pair of buckets from Kentucky's Denzel Aberdeen and Collin Chandler gave the Wildcats the lead, which they never let go of in the first half.

Head coach Dennis Gates' team shot at just a 37 percent clip from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range, as no Tigers got into double-digit scoring in the first half.

Coach Gates' group was also grappling with foul trouble, in the opening half. 7-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr. picked up three personal fouls in 20 minutes, limiting his time on the court to just 19 minutes, total.

The Tigers had quite a bit of work to do out of the locker room, down by nine points at the break, but the Wildcats maintained control. UK's Otega Oweh and Chandler combined for 35 points on 58 percent shooting from the field for Kentucky.

After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Tigers did manage to cut its deficit down to nine points with about 13 minutes left in the game, thanks to a 14-9 run. But, a big triple from Oweh put a stop to the MU momentum, briefly.

Mizzou continued to fight back and claw into the lead, thanks to a huge second half from Mark Mitchell. In just the last 20 minutes, he had 23 points on 9-14 shooting to propel his team to comeback and take the lead 70-69 with two and a half minutes to play.

But Kentucky would answer just as quickly, they went on a 7-0 run of their own in the closing stages to pull back in front and stop the Tiger rally, going on to win 78-72.

For Mizzou, Mitchell was the only consistent presence in the scoring-department, leading his team with 32 points. T.O. Barrett was the only other Tiger in double figures with 13, despite the team shooting 47 percent from the field, and 38 percent from three.

Turnovers plagued the Tigers, tallying 15 and allowing the Wildcats to score 17 points off of them.

Up next - Mizzou will await its NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday. The Tigers will have to sweat it out, as they are projected as one of the Last Four Teams In, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi's bracketology.