Missouri snaps Braggin’ Rights losing streak to Illinois with 79-63 victory

Illinois fans made sure to boo Mark Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon on Saturday night, but the one former Illini signee they forgot about made them pay.

Missouri freshman Javon Pickett made every shot he took but one, scoring a career-high 16 points as the Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak in the Braggin’ Rights game with a 79-63 victory. The win is MU’s fifth in a row.

Instead of going down early like it has in past years, MU was able to hold its own against Illinois’ press and overcome 10 first-half turnovers to go into halftime leading 39-35.

Smith and Tilmon got showered with boos whenever they touched the ball. Tilmon had signed with Illinois out of high school before flipping to MU. Smith, an Illinois transfer, hit a three early in the game to put MU up 12-7 and screamed at his former team’s bench as his shot fell through.

It took just 88 seconds for the referees to intervene after Jordan Geist and Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmo started barking at each other and received off-setting technical fouls.

The Tigers got strong play from Geist, who hit three consecutive three-pointers to force Illinois coach Brad Underwood into a timeout and MU’s bench into anarchy.

Geist’s nine straight points put MU up 21-17 with 10 minutes left. Geist finished with his best game at MU with a team-high 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists despite being in pain from leg cramps. He also played with a bad back.

“Before it even went in I jumped,” Tilmon said of Geist’s third three. “As soon as he shot it, I jumped in the air. I knew it was going to go in because he was already hot.”

Pickett was MU’s unsung hero in the first half. He made all three shots he attempted, including a runner he made while tripping on his way to the basket. He had signed with Illinois out of high school, but, like Tilmon, asked out of his letter of intent after former coach John Groce got fired.

Illinois sophomore guard Trent Frazier prevented MU from building more than a five-point lead on Saturday, scoring 17 points in the first half, including five threes. Frazier opened the scoring with a three in front of MU’s bench. He finished with a game-high 28 points.

“I knew it was going to be that kind of game,” Frazier said. “Them having three of our guys.”

Missouri picked up where it left off at the start of the second half with Tilmon scoring a pair of baskets and Kevin Puryear hitting a corner three to extend Missouri’s lead to seven. Geist went the length of the court for a layup and Xavier Pinson found Pickett on another no-look pass to maintain the lead.

Tilmon finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds despite playing with flu-like symptoms.

Tensions got high, again, after Illinois center Samba Kane and Tilmon stared each other down after a questionable call. Frazier slowly shaved away MU’s lead, including with a pair of free throws that cut MU’s lead to one with 8:36 left. He followed with a layup a minute later to give Illinois the lead at 56-55 with 7:34 left.

But Pickett and Puryear ultimately buried Illinois with two big threes down the stretch to extend MU’s lead to 10 points. Pickett, a 6-foot-4 freshman, continued his hot shooting night with a pair of jumpers to force Underwood into another timeout, while Puryear hit one in front of MU’s bench to extend the lead to 68-58.

Besides a pair of threes, most of Pickett’s baskets came on putbacks and short jump shots, which proved to be huge for MU down the stretch. Pickett said he wasn’t paying attention to the lack of attention he got going into the game and was more focused on getting the win.

“The great thing about (Pickett’s) game is he’s always been built to be a slasher,” Mizzou head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He slashes, cuts to the basket, posts up. When that kind of activity happens, that’s his game.”

Missouri ended the game on a 14-5 run. For the game, the Tigers shot 52.4 percent on three-pointers. The Tigers’ 11 threes were one off a season high.

Smith finished with five points and six rebounds, but he was all smiles when he came out of the game. He embraced Martin, who then riled the crowd up himself. As the final buzzer went off, Missouri’s bench mobbed the Braggin’ Rights trophy for the first time since 2012.

“Now that we won, I can say I had a miserable Christmas last year,” Martin said.

This year’s came with an early present.

This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 9:38 PM.