Mizzou hoops beats Morehead State to hand Eagles 1st loss

The Mizzou hoops team improved to 4-1 with a win over Morehead State. Now, the Tigers head to Kansas City for their next stop as the season moves on.

Mizzou hoops has been pretty consistent this season. The Tigers are good on defense and have some scoring threats at the guard position. That was evident Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.

Mizzou knocked off Morehead State 70-52 to improve to 4-1 and hand the Eagles their first loss of the season. The Tigers pulled away late to secure their fourth win of the season, and they again were led by junior Mark Smith.

The guard scored a game-high 21 points on 7 of 9 shooting. He also knocked down three 3-pointers, which again was a struggle for Mizzou. The Tigers finished the night 4-for-22 outside, an 18 percent rate. That must get better as Mizzou heads into the harder parts of its schedule.

For now, the Tigers enjoy success through their guards Dru and Mark Smith. The duo switch off leading the team, and on Wednesday, Dru led the way with five assists while Mark scored the most points. Forward Jeremiah Tilmon had an off night, but the Smiths were there to pick up the rebounds, collecting 17 total between the two.

Mizzou led 14-3 early but midway through the first half the Eagles took a 20-19 lead. The teams fought back and forth before Mizzou finished the half on a 9-0 run to take back the lead and go into halftime ahead 36-29.

The Tigers stretched their lead to double digits again in the second half and it stayed that way throughout most of the way from there. The Eagles did get within eight, but the Tigers closed out the contest with their stout defense to secure the win in the final five minutes.

Mizzou now will play Butler in its next game. The Tigers and the Bulldogs will meet in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Monday. Oklahoma and Stanford will be the other two teams there.

Butler is 4-0 and plays Morehead State on Friday night.