Missouri closes tumultuous week with 81-72 loss at No. 19 South Carolina

Missouri didn’t roll over Saturday at No. 19 South Carolina despite ample reason to surrender.

Instead, the Tigers fought back from a 13-point first-half deficit and went toe-to-toe with coach Frank Martin’s resurgent Gamecocks for the most part during an 81-72 loss.

“I’m not happy with losing, but I’m pretty proud of these guys,” second-year coach Kim Anderson said. “It’s been a tough week, and I thought they responded pretty well.”

Missouri has lost 23 straight games against NCAA Division I competition away from home and 19 consecutive road games, but the mood after the loss in front of 15,389 fans in “Columbia East” was far from forlorn.

The Tigers, 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, arrived at Colonial Life Arena at the end of a week that began with the worst home loss in 59 years Tuesday, a 94-61 decision against Arkansas.

One day later, MU’s athletic department announced the findings of a 19-month joint investigation with the NCAA into major rules infractions.

Tigers athletic director Mack Rhoades also announced a slew of self-imposed penalties that included a postseason ban this season, scholarship reductions and vacating all 23 wins from the 2013-14 season.

Missouri didn’t seems shaken by the program’s circumstances.

“In our minds, it was kind of yesterday’s news when the ball tipped off,” said senior Ryan Rosburg, who scored a season-high 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting. “Tonight, it didn’t really matter. We’ve got that mind-set.”

Junior guard Wes Clark agreed that focusing on South Carolina wasn’t an issue.

“Not necessarily,” he said. “We’ve got a great group of guys that tries to stay on course with basketball, so we try to stay out of that type of stuff and just focus in on playing basketball.”

Still, Missouri appeared to be headed for another embarrassing loss during the first few minutes, the highlight of which was a three-pointer by sophomore Namon Wright that wedged between the rim and backboard without a rebound.

At least Wright, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in six games, got off a shot. The Tigers’ first three possessions ended in turnovers.

Missouri had committed five turnovers (and was on pace for 66) before Anderson called a timeout only 3:01 into play and trailed 8-0 before Rosburg’s left-handed layup at the 16:14 mark.

South Carolina, which played without sophomore Marcus Stroman (concussion), eventually took its largest lead 23-10 on a three-pointer by junior guard Duane Notice midway through the first half and still led 27-14 with 8:15 remaining before Missouri showed it mettle.

The Tigers rattled off a 20-8 run behind Clark, who scored nine of his game- and career-high 26 during that span.

Clark, who suffered a season-ending dislocated elbow in last season’s game at South Carolina, also finished with a game- and season-high eight assists along with six rebounds.

Sophomore D’Angelo Allen added eight points, including six during that critical scoring spurt, and a season-high six rebounds.

Sophomore Tramaine Isabell capped the run with two free throws at the 1:42 mark, drawing Missouri within 35-34, but South Carolina countered with a 6-0 run to end the half, including a dunk with fewer than 3 seconds remaining by senior forward Laimonas Chatkevicius.

The Tigers — who shot 49.1 percent from the field, the second-highest the Gamecocks have allowed this season — never drew closer than four points in the second half.

Missouri, which had lost its last eight games against ranked teams by double digits dating to Feb. 1, 2014, also never trailed by more than 11 in the second half.

Clark now has three career 20-point game, all since Dec. 23 in the Tigers’ last seven games. He scored 21 that night against Illinois and went for 22 on Jan. 2 against Savannah State.

Rosburg finished two points shy of his career high before fouling out in the closing minutes and matched his career high for made field goals.

South Carolina, 16-1 and 3-1, dominated the glass 41-26.

The Gamecocks’ 17 offensive rebounds led to a 21-5 edge in second-chance points, and the Tigers’ 16 turnovers led to a 20-9 deficit in points off turnovers.

“We got back in character today …,” said Martin, a former Kansas State coach. “Our enthusiasm and playing to our identity was back in place. That’s what mattered today.”

No. 19 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSOURI 72

Percentages: FG .491, FT .692. Three-Point Goals: 7-19, .368 (Clark 4-6, Wright 2-5, Phillips 1-2, Walton 0-1, VanLeer 0-2, Isabell 0-3). Blocked Shots: 3 (Isabell, VanLeer, Gant). Turnovers: 16 (Isabell 4, Puryear 3, Clark 2, Wright 2, Phillips 2, Rosburg, Woods, team). Steals: 8 (Phillips 3, Isabell 2, Puryear 2, Wright). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: Rosburg.

Percentages: FG .452, FT .667. Three-Point Goals: 3-21, .143 (Thornwell 2-6, Notice 1-6, Dozier 0-1, Kacinas 0-1, McKie 0-1, Carrera 0-6). Blocked Shots: 5 (Chatkevicius 2, Kacinas 2, Thornwell). Turnovers: 13 (Dozier 4, Chatkevicius 3, Thornwell 2, Cobb, McKie, Carrera, Notice). Steals: 7 (Thornwell 3, McKie, Dozier, Carrera, Notice). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

Half: South Carolina 41-34. Attendance: 15,389. Officials: Olandis Poole, Anthony Jordan, Garrick Shannon.

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Missouri closes tumultuous week with 81-72 loss at No. 19 South Carolina."