A second-half gut check led the Missouri Tigers to season-opening win vs. Howard
With 15:11 left in the second half, Mizzou basketball and Howard were still battling for momentum.
Coming off a dominant first half, the Tigers squandered their substantial lead over the Bison, allowing 12 points less than five minutes into the second period.
The Bison, who scored just 26 points in the first half, came into the second ready to make up lost ground.
Guard Alex Cotton started the run with a 3-pointer to bring Howard to 38 points. With 14:30 left, Bryce Harris added two more after a defensive rebound, cutting Mizzou’s lead to 13. Guard T.O. Barrett then added fuel to the Bison’s fire, as he turned the ball over, resulting in another 3-pointer for Cotton off an Ed Holland III assist.
Missouri’s lead was cut to nine points after it had held a 16-point lead going into the second half.
That was when the Tigers woke up, eventually cruising to an 88-67 win. A dunk from forward Mark Mitchell, a 3-pointer from guard Jacob Crews, a dunk from center Shawn Phillips Jr. off a pass from Anthony Robinson II and a 3-pointer from Robinson rallied the Mizzou team and brought its fire back to life.
The leading scorer for the Tigers, Phillips, started a ripple effect as guard Jayden Stone scored on back-to-back possessions, one off a Robinson pass in transition and the other from behind the arc.
Stone transferred the energy to the defensive end as he picked off a Howard inbounds pass. He reached with his left hand over Howard’s Bryce Harris until he secured the ball with both hands and fired a pass to Barrett, who was barreling down the middle of the court with a defender trailing.
Barrett finished Stone’s pass with a dunk, hanging from the rim as Stone supported him and they celebrated the play.
Stone emphasized the importance of doing the little things.
“Considering my experience out there, playing for so long, (I’m) just being a glue guy. Whatever the team needs,” Stone said. “Getting in gaps and recovering for guys (defensively) and offensively creating. Just doing the little things, not doing too much outside of myself.”
The win won’t obscure that it was a scattered showing early in the second half. Though the Tigers proved to be the victors of Monday’s clash by a long shot, the score doesn’t reflect the lack of control from Missouri throughout the second.
Mizzou ended the competition with 16 turnovers, three more than the Bison. Though Phillips ended with a double-double, leading in both points and rebounds, he also led in turnovers, with six.
The Tigers also struggled from the charity stripe, a stark contrast to their exhibition showing against Kansas State. Mizzou ended the night at 47.6% from the line, a lower percentage from the free throw line than beyond the arc, where it finished at 52.6%.
Stone led the 3-point game for the Tigers, contributing nine points out of his 13 total. Stone finished as the second-highest scorer coming off the bench. Crews and forward Luke Northweather also put up a decent total of points off the bench, ending with 10 and seven, respectively. Mizzou’s bench scored nearly half its points, ending with 39 compared to Howard’s six bench points.
Still, Missouri ended with 46 points in the paint and 25 points in transition, consistent with the kind of play it showed in the preseason scrimmage.
The Tigers will next face Southeast Missouri in their home opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Mizzou Arena.
Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 11:15 PM with the headline "A second-half gut check led the Missouri Tigers to season-opening win vs. Howard."