Missouri notes: Freshman Kevin Puryear reaches 200 career points in just 18th game

Kevin Puryear joined some elite company Wednesday, tying Kelly Thames as the sixth-fastest Missouri freshman to reach 200 points in program history.

Puryear, who scored 10 points in a 60-57 loss against Georgia at Mizzou Arena, has 207 points in his first 18 games.

Steve Stipanovich, who reached 200 points in his first 13 career games, was the fastest Tigers freshman to reach that plateau.

Kareem Rush and Nathan Buntin needed 15 games to get there, while Doug Smith and Derrick Chievous each needed 17 games.

Rush, a Pembroke Hill graduate, didn’t score his 200th point until Missouri’s 24th game, because he was suspended for nine games early in his freshman season.

Puryear, a Blue Springs South graduate and the 2015 DiRenna Award winner, averages leads the Tigers at 11.5 points per game, which would rank seventh on the team’s all-time list.

By the numbers

3: Steals by Missouri, the second-fewest of the season (2, Dec. 1 vs. Arkansas State)

6: Blocks by Georgia sophomore Yante Maten, which tied the Mizzou Arena record set by Missouri’s Ricardo Ratliffe and Vanderbilt’s Festus Ezeli.

7: Assists by Missouri, which is the second-fewest of the season (6, Dec. 13 at Arizona)

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Missouri notes: Freshman Kevin Puryear reaches 200 career points in just 18th game."