Mizzou basketball defeats Mississippi in a nailbiter as Xavier Pinson scores 32
The Missouri Tigers, led by Xavier Pinson’s career-high 32 points, held off the Mississippi Rebels for a nailbiting 71-68 victory on Tuesday.
The Tigers (13-13, 5-8 SEC) won back-to-back Southeastern Conference games for the first time this season, downing the Rebels (13-13, 4-9) at Mizzou Arena. It was an important swing game as both teams were tied in the SEC standings.
“He’s obviously put the work in,” MU coach Cuonzo Martin said of Pinson. “Just gotta keep him moving and attacking and playing in space. But he’s also making shots. That’s the preparation and the work that he’s put in.”
The teams battled it out in the final minutes, trading possessions as Mississippi looked to tie the score. Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree had a wide open three-pointer in the final seconds but he couldn’t knock it down.
Pinson started hot, scoring Mizzou’s first seven points. While he only played seven minutes in the first half, the Chicago native dominated after halftime, scoring 24 of his points.
It was an encore performance after a then career-high 28 points in the win over Auburn. Dru Smith also added 17 points for Mizzou on Tuesday.
But when Mizzou went up by double digits, Ole Miss used a 13-1 run to take the lead and close the gap. The stretch was powered by Tyree, who scored 29 points. The Tigers outlasted the Rebels down the stretch. Pinson and Smith made eight straight free throws to ice the game as Ole Miss fouled with time winding down.
The Tigers were again without Jeremiah Tilmon (stress fracture) and Mark Smith (lower back). Neither went through pregame warmups.
Mizzou travels to play Arkansas at noon Saturday at Bud Walton Arena at Fayetteville. The Tigers defeated the Hogs 83-79 in overtime on Feb. 8.
“They want to win for Jeremiah and Mark,” Martin said. “That means something to them. They’re not happy those guys are out. Let’s keep going on. That means somebody has to give a little bit more.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 9:56 PM.