Missouri blows 14-point lead in final two minutes before losing in overtime to No. 25 LSU

For 38 minutes it appeared Missouri was going to be able to survive without Mark Smith, its top three-point shooter, who was ruled out with a sprained ankle.

But a blown 14-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation left Missouri (10-8, 1-5 SEC) picking up the pieces after an 86-80 overtime loss to No. 25 LSU (16-3, 6-0 SEC) on Saturday night. LSU has now won nine consecutive games.

“It’s a hard, hard pill to swallow,” MU coach Cuonzo Martin said.

Martin said in his postgame press conference that he apologized to the team after the game for failing to get them “over the hump in a game like that.”

Smith went into Saturday as a game-time decision after spraining his left ankle in the closing minutes of Mizzou’s loss to Arkansas on Wednesday. Martin said he was ruled out after being unable to go through shootaround, but is optimistic about Smith returning soon.

Missouri senior Jordan Geist led all scorers with a season-high 25 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds. He hit shots from all over the floor in a game in which MU needed more from its backcourt, given Smith’s absence.

The Tigers played one of their better halves against LSU, relative to what it has done so far in Southeastern Conference play. MU played a full 20 minutes and featured no pre-halftime collapse like in the past. Geist had 13 points in the first half, including three three-pointers, to pace the MU offense. Both Geist and fellow senior Kevin Puryear were hit with technical fouls early in the first half for talking to LSU players, something commonplace with Geist, but rare for Puryear. Puryear only played seven minutes in the first half after picking up three fouls.

“That was bad on our part being seniors,” Geist said of the technicals. “That hurt us at the end of the game. That’s four free throws they (wouldn’t) have had the potential to make.”

A three from Geist gave MU an 18-14 lead and capped an 11-1 Missouri run to settle down the Tigers’ offense after a few bad possessions. LSU committed 12 fouls as a team in the first half, which made MU sophomore Jeremiah Tilmon’s foul issues seem nonchalant. The visiting Tigers went into halftime with five players having at least two fouls. Tilmon finished with 15 points in a career-high 35 minutes.

LSU took a brief lead after a 7-0 run, off a pair of free throws by Emmit Williams, but MU freshman Xavier Pinson’s three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the first half, tied the game at 33-33 going into halftime.

In the second half Geist picked up where he he had left off. After walk-on Ronnie Suggs scored five straight points to open the half, Geist resumed scoring in the toughest of ways. With the shot clock winding down, he hit a turnaround two-pointer with his foot on the line to put MU up 46-43. The play before he found Javon Pickett on a bounce pass between two defenders for a basket. Pickett played despite battling a back injury he suffered at Arkansas and finished with 13 points.

Without Smith, Missouri got good minutes from Pinson, who scored eight points in 14 minutes, while showing an improved effort on defense. Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin has said he wants to see Pinson, a 6-foot-1 freshman, control the flash in his game while having more of a defensive presence. Pinson did just that, forcing a jump ball while guarding LSU point guard Tremont Waters and got two steals. He fouled out with 6:40 left in regulation and MU missed his presence when LSU started pressing in the final minutes of the second half, since Mizzou lacked ball-handlers.

“We have to keep our foot in the pedal,” Tilmon said. “We’ll be up a lot of points and out of nowhere, you look up and they’re up one or down one.”

LSU got Mizzou’s lead to single digits in the final two minutes off a 14-1 run where MU failed to rebound and take care of the ball. Will Wade ramped up the press on Missouri to try and get more possessions to close the gap and force turnovers, which is MU’s weakness.

The visiting Tigers cut the deficit to a one-possession game with 35 seconds left in regulation after Tilmon was called for his fourth foul on LSU forward Naz Reid, after Tilmon appeared to collide with him and injure his shoulder.

Emmit Williams’ free throw with 2 seconds left tied the game at 71-71 after a questionable call on Ronnie Suggs and sent the game into overtime.

Suggs said he tried to get good position and block out because he could tell the shot was off. Officials told Suggs he walked into Williams.

“It looked like he came over Ronnie’s back,” Martin said. “It’s over now.”

LSU took the lead in overtime off a deep three by Ja’vonte Smart before Puryear tied it with his first basket of the game. Smart hit another three on the following possession, which helped seal the game. LSU guard Skylar Mays led his team with 24 points and was one of four players in double figures for LSU.

Missouri’s next game is at No. 16 Auburn on Wednesday. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

This story was originally published January 26, 2019 at 7:50 PM.