Mizzou powers past Wofford 75-56 as Mark Smith, defense lead the way
The Missouri Tigers dominated the Wofford Terriers defensively in a 75-56 win as guard Mark Smith scored 19 points and forward Jeremiah Tilmon added 16.
The Tigers (3-1) suffocated the Terriers in the second half Monday night at Mizzou Arena, not allowing a field goal for the last 14:35 — a stretch of 15 straight missed shots. It was typical of a Cuonzo Martin-coached squad as defense led to easy offense from there.
“The biggest key is simply taking pride in what it means to be an elite defensive team because that’s our goal,” Martin said.
The decisive run came when the score was tied 45-45 and Wofford was looking for the upset. But the Tigers scored the next 13 points and never looked back.
It was a balanced Mizzou effort offensively. Guard Xavier Pinson also scored 10 points, joining Mark Smith and Tilmon in double figures. Of Mizzou’s nine players who saw the court Monday evening, eight scored.
Mizzou also had its best shooting evening of the season, which helped in facing what was a hot-shooting team in Wofford.
The Tigers — shooting 25.3% from three coming into the game — hit five of their first six threes. They cooled off, finishing 9 of 23 at a 39.1% clip. The highlight came when Tilmon got in on the fun, knocking his first career three-pointer minutes into the game.
Wofford was led by guard Nathan Hoover, who scored 21 points in 39 minutes. Storm Murphy and Chevez Goodwin were also in double figures with 10 points each.
Mizzou is back in action for a 7 p.m. Wednesday tipoff against Morehead State. Then it’s the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center next week. The Tigers play Butler in Monday’s semifinal and either Oklahoma or Stanford the next day for the title or third place.
“I always need to do a better job acknowledging and doing great things,” Martin said. “You have to acknowledge the fact that they took a lot of pride in defending.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 9:09 PM.