COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri Tigers are no strangers to close games this season, and Wednesday night’s game against the Vanderbilt Commodores fell into a common category of squeakers. Mizzou was fortunate to avoid overtime after a Wes Clark missed free throw ended up in Kyle Fuller’s hands, who launched a shot from beyond midcourt that just missed off the back of the iron. The Tigers prevailed 67-64 to improve to 19-7 with a 7-6 record in SEC play.
Jordan Clarkson led the way for the Tigers with 21 points, Earnest Ross chipped in 16. Despite late missed free throws, Clark had a good showing with nine points, which diminished the damage of poor shooting night from Jabari Brown, who only contributed 10 points.
The Tigers overcame a lethargic first half that saw only 20 points on the scoreboard, and trailed Vandy’s 21 after a tip-in at the buzzer. Both teams shot better in the second half and the Commodores had a three-point lead with less than six minutes to play.
But following a Damian Jones layup, Mizzou went on an 8-0 run bookended by layups from Clarkson. The Tigers had a chance to put significant distance on the scoreboard, but missed five free throws in the final 90 seconds, which Vandy almost made them pay for.
The Tigers head to Tuscaloosa on Saturday for a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Tide, which plays at Texas A&M on Thursday night before the 7 p.m. tip against the Tigers on Saturday.
