Mizzou finishes within inches of Braggin’ Rights victory
ST. LOUIS – Until the end, the Missouri Tigers continued to fight.
Missouri fell behind 10 in the end, but came back to take the lead and eventually tied it again with a minute left, but two final 3-point baskets fell wide as the Illinois Fighting Illini won a new Braggin’ Rights classic in St. Louis on Sunday.
“It was a great atmosphere, both staffs, both coaches, I have tremendous respect for the program, but I wish we could have come away with a win,” the Missouri coach said. Denis Gates said. “It was a great NCAA tournament atmosphere, that’s what it felt like to me.”
Neither team had a double-digit lead at any point until Kylan Boswell made a few free throws with 6:33 left to create a 67-57 advantage.
Then the Tigers played with some chaos.
‘Nobody does it better than Missouri,’ Illinois coach Brad Underwood said.
Tamar Bates I drove to hit a fading mid-range jumper, then Tony Perkins grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled, which sent him to the line where he made both shots.
Trent Pierce then he grabbed a defensive board and flipped it forward. Marc Mitchell who found Jacob Crews in the left corner for the Tigers’ second 3 of the game to cut the lead to 67-64 with 5:27 left.
Bates made two more free throws, then forced a steal that led to a Pierce layup, giving the Tigers a 68-67 advantage with 4:13 left, their first lead since late in the first half. -time.
“What we didn’t do was put our heads down and we kept fighting,” Gates said. “We kept our foot on the shovel and we kept digging. And that’s the sign of a good team.
But the lead lasted about 18 seconds when Tre White hit a jumper to regain a 69-68 lead for the Illini.
The Tigers would no longer lead.
“We cut the lead two or three times … and each time, Illinois made a tough shot, made a tough shot, so they were executed in time,” Gates said. “…Sometimes players just make big plays and you can’t, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
But they would tie it again, first at 72 with 2:29 left, then at 75 with 1:14 left and again at 77 with 45 seconds left.
But each time, the Illini got the shot they needed, going up 75-72 on a Kaspars Jakucionis 3, then 77-75 on two free throws from Boswell and definitively taking the advantage on a jumper from Jakucionis 28 seconds from the end.
With Illinois leading 79-77, the Tigers turned to Mitchell, who rolled a 3 at the end of the Border War to resist Kansas‘ charged and maintained Mizzou’s advantage, but this time the shot was missed and Boswell went down with the rebound.
A foul sent him to the line, where he committed only one, leaving the lead at 3 with 8 seconds remaining.
The Tigers charged the floor and took an open look at Crews from the right wing, but it echoed off the back iron as time expired to give Illinois its second straight Braggin’ Rights victory .
“I thought we had a good look, we could have called a timeout, but I wasn’t going to get an open shot, more open than what we got with a two-on-one against a shut down defense,” said Gates. “I trust our players and what they do, and ultimately it was in and out.”
After back-to-back blowouts in the St. Louis game over the past three seasons and the last close game played in Columbia, the 2024 edition gave fans all the excitement they could hope for from the rivalry.
“Missouri has an incredible history, they have an incredible tradition,” Underwood said. “Again, I have so much respect for the programs that offer this. Not everyone has that. … When you put these two teams together and you put them together under unique circumstances, you get a crowd like today’s.
The Tigers took the game’s initial lead, leading 5-0 as Mitchell and Bates each hit a layup and Mitchell added a game-opening free throw, but the Illini fought back to tie the game at 7 and took Illinois’ first lead at 10.-7 with 14:50 left in the first half.
The Illini held the lead for much of the first half, but the Tigers chipped away at the free throw line with this season’s bread and butter.
Two free throws from Perkins cut the lead to 24-22, then Warrick Brands grabbed a defensive rebound and dished it out to Perkins for a transition dunk to tie the game at 24.
A free throw by Mitchell put the Tigers ahead again at 25-24, then a layup by Mitchell and -1 put the Tigers ahead 28-24 with 4:48 left before halftime as the Tigers attacked the paint again and again, scoring 34 points in the paint.
But like every time Missouri gained momentum, Illinois got the shots it needed. A sweater Tre Blanc and a second chance jumper Morez Johnson tied the game at 28, then Johnson added a layup before White hit two free throws to extend the lead to 32-28.
Mizzou came back to tie it on a Mitchell layup and two free throws, but a five-point run by Illinois ended the half with the Illini up 37-32.
“They finished the half with an incredible run in one minute and 30 seconds,” Gates said.
Illinois held a lead for most of the second half, increasing the advantage to 10 points late, but the game’s temper got out of hand at points, helping lead to a total of 60 free throws and a rare technical foul from Gates with 16: 53 left.
After a very physical sequence with bodies colliding under the basket and Ant Robinson falling to the ground after attempting to pass following a steal, Gates jumped to the ground midway through the play and faced the official, landing a technical that put Illinois up 42-34 after the two free throws.
“I didn’t set out to acquire any technology, but I had to,” Gates said. “I had to do it, I had to call a technician and our guys responded to that technical foul. Because if I hadn’t made a technical foul on that, God only knows what would have happened during the whole match. What I do know was right in front of me Ant Robinson fell, I don’t think he fell on his own but it was after a few other situations that happened.
Missouri (10-2) ends its winning streak at 10 games and will look to get back in the win column as it plays its final non-conference game after a break for Christmas. The Tigers will host Alabama State at 6:30 p.m. on December 30.
