Missouri Tigers lose late lead, fall to South Carolina in OT. Here are the takeaways
Missouri controlled most of the second half but was stunned in overtime as South Carolina’s Jacobi Wright hit a jumper on the Gamecocks’ final possession for a 71-69 victory over the Tigers at Mizzou Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers led by five with around two minutes to play in regulation; they also led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The loss extended Missouri’s losing streak to three, as the Tigers previously lost to Georgia at home and Kentucky on the road. The loss dropped the Tigers to 0-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Once again, Noah Carter, Sean East II, and Tamar Bates led the way for the Tigers, but a poor shooting performance by the team in all phases ensured that the Tigers (8-8) left without a victory.
Here are three takeaways from the Tigers’ sixth loss in seven games:
Mizzou’s 3-point shooting falters
Since Dennis Gates’ arrival as MU’s head coach, he’s attempted to build teams that can score effectively from 3-point range.
Against South Carolina (14-2, 2-1), that didn’t happen.
In the first half, the Tigers went 1-for-12 from behind the arc. The first 3-point make came from Sean East with 4:28 left in the first stanza.
MU finished the afternoon shooting 5-for-22 from 3-point range. Only Noah Carter (2-for-10 from 3) made more than one 3-pointer.
Missouri’s free-throw game also takes a hit
The Tigers have struggled to get to the free-throw line in previous games. In the aforementioned loss against Georgia, the Tigers only shot seven free throws total.
Against South Carolina, Missouri equaled the same amount of free-throw attempts as its opponent, 18, but the team didn’t capitalize on those opportunities.
Missouri went just 12-for-18 from the free throw line for 66.7%. In overtime the Tigers finished 2-for-4 from the free throw line in a two-point loss.
South Carolina shot 16-for-18 for the game.
Jesus Carralero Martin is emerging at Missouri’s sixth man
Let’s look at the positives.
With Missouri down 7-0 to South Carolina early, Gates looked to his bench and substituted Jesus Carralero Martin for Aidan Shaw. The senior guard from Spain made an instant positive impact. An offensive rebound by Carralero Martin led to a Tamar Bates jumper, giving the Tigers their first points of the game.
On Missouri’s next offensive trip down, Carralero Martin helped Bates out again with an assist, and following South Carolina’s response, he knocked down a jumper, closing the margin back within three.
By the time the under-16 timeout hit, Carralero Martin posted a plus-minus of plus-four. The plus-minus statistic is something Gates noted is important to him on Friday.
Carralero Martin played 25 minutes for Missouri. He finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists to go along with a steal. He led the team with an individual plus/minus of plus-three.
The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.
