Mizzou beats Wofford 83-74 in college basketball season opener

Missouri got out in transition.

Missouri dived on the floor.

Missouri made shots from the field, played together on defense and rebounded as a group.

It remains to be seen how it all translates in terms of wins and losses, but the Tigers’ improved chemistry and resolve was apparent Friday in a season-opening 83-74 win against Wofford at Mizzou Arena in the first of two host-site games for the CBE Classic.

Already, that’s a step in the right direction for a team that was stunned by UMKC in last season’s opener, coach Kim Anderson’s first game as head coach at his alma mater.

“It sure feels better than it did 365 days ago,” Anderson said.

The mood was considerably more celebratory on this night, and for good reason. The Terriers are a quality program coming off a 28-win season and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

“It feels good to start off with a win, but, then again, we’ve got to remember that it’s just one of many games down the road,” freshman guard Terrence Phillips said. “We’ve got to continue to build as go along in the season.”

Freshman forward Kevin Puryear, the reigning DiRenna Award winner as Kansas City’s top high school basketball player after leading Blue Springs South to a state title last season, dropped 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five rebounds in his college debut.

“This is definitely very sweet, a very sweet to experience this at my dream school with this team,” Puryear said. “I’m just looking forward to down the road, because I really want to do great things here as a team especially — get a lot of wins and win championships. My vision is bigger than just this game.”

The last three Tigers to score 20 or more in their freshman debut were Montaque Gill-Caesar last season, Jevon Crudup against Rutgers in 1991 and Steve Stipanovich against Southwest Texas in 1980.

Sophomore Namon Wright chipped in 18 points, with a game-best seven rebounds and a team-high three three-pointers.

The 83 points were more than the Tigers scored in any game last season and the most since beating Davidson in the first round of the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, a span of 35 games.

Missouri, which shot 56.0 percent from the field after only shooting 50 percent or better three times last season, led by as many as 14 points in the first half.

The lead remained 47-37 after the first 5 minutes of the second half, but the Terriers pulled within five points on a three-pointer by junior Jaylen Allen at the 13:38 mark.

The Tigers didn’t let it get any closer.

Crisp ball movement — sophomore Tramaine Isabell whipped a pass to the wing for junior Wes Clark, who ferried it along to Wright in the right corner — stopped Wofford’s run with a clutch three-pointer.

Isabell added a steal and layup with 11:36 remaining that pumped the lead back to 54-44.

That margin never again dipped below seven points until the closing minute, when a deep three-pointer from Wofford’s own impressive freshman, Fletcher Magee, made it 76-70 with 58.6 seconds remaining.

It was too little and too late at that point.

“We were able to fight their runs off in the second half,” Anderson said. “I thought maybe we got a little tired. They were setting some screens. We were having trouble chasing and we were kind of going through it, but overall a good win and something I hope that we can build on.”

Magee finished with a game-high 22 points.

There were blemishes, to be sure. Missouri fouled a three-point shooter four times, but the Tigers won the rebounding battle 37-29 and only committed nine turnovers in a predominantly encouraging win.

Missouri missed its first five shots and started 1 of 7 from the field as Wofford jumped out to an 8-2 lead early.

Once the Tigers, who started three freshmen, settled in, the tide quickly turned.

“We started pressing and we started doing a little three-quarter court stuff,” Anderson said. “I thought we stirred the game up.”

Junior forward Russell Woods powered a 20-2 run, making all four shots from the field and adding a free throw as he scored nine during that stretch.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Mizzou beats Wofford 83-74 in college basketball season opener."