Arkansas surges to 94-61 win over Missouri

Missouri suffered its worst home loss in 59 years Tuesday at Mizzou Arena, absorbing a 94-61 beating from Arkansas.

The last time the Tigers lost by 33 points at home, Wilt Chamberlain scored 32 in leading second-ranked Kansas to a 91-58 victory on Feb. 16, 1957.

The only worse home loss in Missouri history was a 74-38 loss to Iowa Pre-Flight — which represented the U.S. Navy pre-flight school at the University of Iowa during World War II — on Jan. 13, 1945.

“I would say I’m embarrassed …,” Tigers coach Kim Anderson said after the game. “The performance is unacceptable, and obviously it starts with me.”

Let’s start with the positive: There was a fleeting moment when a Missouri comeback seemed plausible.

Birthday boy Terrence Phillips — a freshman from Orange County, Calif., by way of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia — led an emotion-fueled surge early in the second half.

But as suddenly as that flood of hope grew among the Tigers’ 6,627 faithful who ringed Norm Stewart Court, it receded in an avalanche of easy buckets from Arkansas, which closed the game on a 43-17 run.

“It’s not the margin,” Anderson said. “It’s the way we played. Now, obviously, the margin figures into it. … One of the things we’ve had a problem with is getting punched in the mouth and then not punching back early in games. That’s happened before and we didn’t respond. … If we were a prize-fighter, we got knocked out.”

Arkansas, 9-7 and 3-1 in the SEC, led by 12 at halftime after shooting better than 65 percent from the field. The Razorbacks stayed hot in the second half and went in front by 15 on a three-pointer by sophomore Anton Beard and again on a layup by junior Moses Kingsley in the opening 1:31.

The Tigers, 8-8 and 1-2 in conference, answered with an 8-0 surge with Phillips, who celebrated his 20th birthday Tuesday with a career-high 16 points, leading the charge.

Phillips scored six, including back-to-back layups to ignite the rally along with a pair of free throws after senior forward Ryan Rosburg worked over Kingsley on the block for a baby hook.

Rosburg’s bucket trimmed the Razorbacks’ lead to 51-42, the first time it had been in single digits since the 16-minute mark in the first half.

Missouri, though, never drew closer than that seven-point margin.

The cheering stopped shortly thereafter as Arkansas responded with a 14-2 run punctuated, in part, by one of Kingsley’s many dunks.

Kingsley, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points, finished with a game-high 24 points, while junior guard Dusty Hannahs added 20.

“I thought he dominated the game from start to finish and we didn’t have an answer for him,” Anderson said. “We tried everybody. Even if we tried to double, they moved the ball around. We didn’t play the type of game that we obviously wanted to. … Nobody wants to lose by 33 at home.”

Three other Razorbacks — Columbia-Hickman graduate and freshman guard Jimmy Whitt (15), Beard (14) and senior guard Anthlon Bell (12) — also reached double figures.

Sophomore guards Tramaine Isabell and Namon Wright each scored nine, including seven apiece in the first half, and freshman forward Kevin Puryear from Blue Springs South added eight points for the Tigers.

Former Missouri coach Mike Anderson is now 4-3 against the Tigers.

“That’s probably one of the better games we’ve played on the road with probably any of our teams,” Mike Anderson said after the game. “I thought from start to finish, our guys were really focused and locked in on defense. We also were very efficient in sharing the basketball.”

Arkansas — which shot 62.7 percent, going 37 of 59 from the field — took command in the first half, making 14 of its first 17 shots from the field and cruising to a 46-34 halftime lead.

The Razorbacks started the game 7 of 9 from the field, while the Tigers missed their first seven shots.

Still, Missouri only trailed 16-6 when Jakeenan Gant connected on short jumper more than 6 1/2 minutes into the opening half.

Arkansas never really cooled off, finishing the first half 20 of 31 from the field for a scorching 64.5 percent.

The Tigers stayed within striking distance by getting to the free-throw line, going 14 of 17 compared to 3 of 3 for the Hogs.

Missouri finished 20 of 23 at the free-throw line but only 3 of 15 from three-point range, while Arkansas was 12 of 15 at the line and 8 of 15 from distance.

Tuesday’s summary

ARKANSAS 94, MISSOURI 61

Percentages: FG .627, FT .800. Three-Point Goals: 8-15, .533 (Hannahs 4-5, Beard 2-4, Bell 2-5, Durham 0-1). Blocked Shots: 6 (Kingsley 4, Thompson, Beard). Turnovers: 6 (Durham 3, Hannahs 2, Whitt). Steals: 5 (Kingsley 2, Whitt, Durham, Watkins). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .388, FT .870. Three-Point Goals: 3-15, .200 (Wright 1-2, VanLeer 1-3, Phillips 1-4, Allen 0-1, Clark 0-1, Isabell 0-2, Puryear 0-2). Blocked Shots: 2 (Gant, Allen). Turnovers: 14 (Phillips 4, Wright 3, Woods, Walton, Puryear, Allen, Rosburg, Gant). Steals: 3 (Phillips, VanLeer, Woods). Technical Fouls: None.

Half: Arkansas 46-34. Attendance: 6,627. Officials: Karl Hess, Tim Gattis, Gerry Pollard.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Arkansas surges to 94-61 win over Missouri."