Missouri beats Oregon State 69-63 behind Jordan Geist, reaches Paradise Jam finals

A back injury wasn’t enough to stop Jordan Geist on Sunday.

Unable to practice, the Missouri senior scored 21 points, 18 of which came in the second half, leading Missouri to a 69-63 victory over Oregon State that put the Tigers in the finals of the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fellow senior Kevin Puryear added 17 points and seven rebounds.

“He might say his back hurts all the time so he doesn’t have to practice,” joked MU coach Cuonzo Martin on KTGR after the game.

Missouri will play Kansas State on Monday for the Paradise Jam tournament title. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. Central.

Despite early foul trouble from Mark Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon, Missouri started off with its best half of the season. Missouri jumped out to a 10-4 lead in behind a pair of threes from Smith and Torrence Watson. Smith, who has been a strong three-point shooter all season, showed off his passing skills, feeding Tilmon and reserve Reed Nikko underneath the basket early on.

Tilmon picked up his second foul of the half with 16 minutes left, causing Nikko to play an extended period of time. After Smith picked up his second foul with 8:50 left in the first half, Puryear, a Blue Springs South graduate, picked up the offensive burden. Missouri shot just 38 percent from the field on Sunday and 30 percent from three, which made put even more pressure on Puryear, with Smith and Tilmon struggling.

Smith went to the bench with Missouri up seven and Puryear quickly extended the lead to nine with a floater along the baseline. From there, MU’s large lead began to evaporate. The Beavers responded with a 10-2 run in a three minute span, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 26-24. Sophomore Alfred Hollins keyed the run with seven of his 12 points in the first half. He also had eight rebounds in the contest.

Puryear stopped the bleeding with a layup. The 6-foot-8 senior forward scored Missouri’s final six points of the half to lead all scorers with eight points in the first half.

Geist picked up where Puryear left off in the second half. Geist carried MU after Smith picked up his third foul with 18:41 left. A pair of free throws by Geist extended Missouri’s lead to 37-30 with 17:30 left. Hollins responded with a corner three to keep the Tigers from running away with the lead. Stephen Thompson Jr. hit two consecutive threes to tie the game at 39 all with 15:28 left.

“Especially late in the game, we want the ball in Kevin’s hands,” Martin said. “He can make free throws. We have to find ways to get him the ball.”

Missouri lost Tilmon again after the 6-foot-11 sophomore picked up his third foul with 15:47 left. Having to rely on Nikko again, the junior center delivered. Beavers star Tres Tinkle drained a long three to give Oregon State a 42-40 lead. Nikko immediately responded with a hook shot over his left hand to tie the game at 42. Tinkle finished the game with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Nikko had six points and six rebounds.

Oregon State forward Kylor Kelly tied the game at 44 with 12:13 left, MU took it from there. Free throws from Puryear, Geist and freshman Xavier Pinson helped Missouri build a 54-48 lead as OSU would go scoreless for over four minutes. Missouri shot 79 percent from the free throw for the game, with Geist and Puryear going a combined 18-for-21 from the charity stripe. Pinson, who only played five minutes against Kennesaw State on Friday played 27 minutes against the Beavers and took better care of the ball after be turnover-prone in MU’s first three games. Missouri only had nine turnovers as a team vs. OSU.

Puryear gave Missouri a nine-point lead with a three to put MU up 57-48 with 6:55 left.

Tilmon fouled out with just under two minutes remaining in the game. He finished with six points. It was the first time he fouled out this season, after fouling out twice through MU’s first four games last season. Geist would ice the game with 15 seconds left with a free throw.

Alex Schiffer

Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.

This story was originally published November 18, 2018 at 6:51 PM.