Mitchell’s efficient shooting powers Mizzou to 82-65 victory over Alabama State

Dec 31, 2024 | Uncategorized

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Missouri forward Mark Mitchell (25) celebrates a big score to put MU up by 18 during the second half of the Border War game against Kansas on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, at Mizzou Arena. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)

Mitchell shot 5-6 from the field and was a constant problem in the paint for the Hornets

The Missouri Tigers (11-2) faced one last dress rehearsal in non-conference play, playing host to the Alabama State Hornets (4-9) on Monday evening at Mizzou Arena in front of a nice-sized crowd. The Tigers utilized tight first half defense and efficient offense to dismantle the Hornets in an 82-65 triumph.

Primary starting ball-handler, Anthony Robinson II, was listed as OUT with an illness, and was replaced with Trent Pierce, who made quick use of the newfound starting role, hitting a three to give the Tigers their first points of the game.

The Hornets came into the game with the second-best offense in the SWAC, scoring 77 points per game, but also one of the worst scoring defenses in the country, allowing 81 points a game. From the tip, the Hornets started the game in a man-to-man defense and switched to a 2-3 zone look in an effort to confuse the Mizzou offense and force them to succeed against the zone, something they haven’t done well with this season.

Mark Mitchell relied on his usual offensive strategy, getting to the paint and getting to the line, as his first four points came from the charity stripe. Mitchell was joined by his usual scoring partner, Tamar Bates, as the two combined for 30 points.

Pierce and Bates connected for an alley-oop to cap off an early 6-0 run to begin the second half. The play was symbolic of how much Pierce has grown over the course of this season, and he looked as comfortable as ever within the starting lineup on Monday. Pierce picked up 12 points on the night, his sixth time scoring in double digits this season.

Amarr Knox and CJ Hines were the Hornets’ top scorers coming into the tilt both averaging north of 15 points per game, but they were held to just seven combined points on 3-15 shooting. Their shots were heavily contested all night. Head coach Tony Madlock’s son TJ Madlock was also held to just 2-11 shooting, spelling a pretty rough shooting night for all the Hornets’ stars.

The Tigers’ defense held the Hornets to just 11 points in the first 12 minutes of game, shooting under 30% from the field. They had good close outs on the defensive end and did not allow separation off the ball to create easy buckets. Usually when teams play as aggressively as Missouri did in this game, they commit a lot of fouls, but Alabama State accumulated just three trips to the foul line in the second half, one of which came on an accidental technical by Tamar Bates.

The defense was so good that not a single starter for Alabama State had over five points. The majority of their points came from the bench thanks to D’Ante Bass and Tyler Mack combining for 24 of the Hornets’ 65 points.

In great news for the Tigers, Caleb Grill returned to action with a solid 11 minutes of play since suffering a scary neck injury against Lindenwood. Grill’s return saw him force two turnovers in consecutive possessions, which prompted some excited reactions from his Tiger cohorts on the bench.

Grill took some time to get into the game offensively but showed that three-point shooting ability the Tigers had been desperately missing during his absence. Grill’s return also sparked something in other players, as six different players hit shots from beyond the arc.

The term tune-up held extremely valid in this game, as head coach Dennis Gates had 12 different players see minutes in the first half in this tilt. Getting young players such as T.O. Barrett and Annor Boateng playing time was crucial with the SEC shaping up to be one of the biggest bloodbaths in recent memory.

For a brief moment in the second half the Hornets seemed to be generating positive momentum with a 14-7 run but it was quickly thwarted by a three-pointer from none other than Bates. From that point on it was smooth sailing for the Tigers.

The Tigers eclipsed 75 points, keeping their run of scoring at least 75 points in every game this season very much alive. They are one of four teams in Division 1 basketball to be able to say that.

Statistically, the Tigers shot 50% from the field and 31% from three-point land. Alabama State was clamped down to 39% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc themselves, as the Tigers generated 13 turnovers and scored 16 points off of them. They also outrebounded the Hornets 39-30.

The Tigers will now rest before they head to The Plains to take on the No. 2 Auburn Tigers to start SEC play, on Saturday, January 4 at 3 PM CST on SEC Network.

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