Efficient offense carries Mizzou past South Dakota
Jevon Porter hasn’t had the start he has hoped for to his Mizzou homecoming season.
Through the first four games, he had just 18 total points and 17 total rebounds. Not quite his 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds he averaged at Loyola-Marymount last season, even with the Tigers generally playing lower-level competition.
“With a new team, it’s always going to be an adjustment period,” Porter said. “But the coaches and my other teammates, they’ve done a great job of making me feel comfortable out here.”
But Thursday night against South Dakota, he got his moment.
Porter scored 19 points while shooting 9-of-9 from the field, and added 12 rebounds for his first Tiger double-double as he helped lead the way to a Tiger 102-68 win against the Coyotes.
“Play mad at Coach Gates,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said of his consistent message to Porter. “I think that increases his intensity. Having a new philosophy and a new program, you got to understand the adjustment. I wish I would have gotten him earlier and sooner. … It’s the same adjustment Kobe Brown had to make, a preseason adjustment as well. And then we just saw him skyrocket and turn himself into a first-round draft pick.”
Porter wasn’t the only Tiger playing efficiently, though. The whole team had a great night on offense.
Mizzou shot 64.3 percent from the field, 54.5 percent from 3 and 80 percent from the free-throw line. All season highs as Mizzou moved to 5-0 with the win.
Starting slow
The Tigers were without starting center Shawn Phillips once again due to illness, so Jefferson City native Luke Northweather got the start.
But Northweather took an elbow to the face in the first minute and had to exit until about the under-8 timeout. Leaving the already short Tiger bench even shorter.
Without a true center, the Tigers struggled to get into a rhythm.
The teams went back and forth early, tying at 2, 4, 6, 8, 21 and 23 in the early going.
South Dakota even took a 26-25 lead with 8:38 left before halftime.
But finally the Tigers got broke through with a 6-0 run that gave them the lead for good in response. The run made it 31-26 Mizzou with 7:21 left before the break and they built out to a 53-42 advantage with an explosive 22 points in the final 6:19.
“I think they do a great job of finding matchup advantages. And it’s almost to a curse because the ball sticks because they recognize something,” Gates said. “So I’m excited to try to get from that pause, or eliminating the pause, to them recognizing the advantages and just playing free. Recognizing and processing it at a quicker rate.”
The half was capped by an Ant Robinson layup as the guard built to an 11-point, six-assist, five-rebound day.
Pulling away
The Tigers had an easier time after the break as early runs made it 65-46 Mizzou with 15:52 left, then a 14-0 run created an 83-54 lead with 8:13 to play.
Mizzou had one more 8-point run in it to create a 91-58 advantage before ending with a 34-point lead.
“I think the biggest thing was just us trying to play at a fast pace, while being controlled,” Porter said. “While also taking away their transition. And I think we did a pretty good job with that tonight.”
Stats
The Tigers got the return of guard Annor Boateng who hadn’t played since Mizzou’s exhibition. Boateng ended up with 14 minutes played, three points, one assist, one rebound and one block.
“Annor’s rhythm got disrupted. Coming off of our preseason, I thought he was one of the top three guys on the team,” Gates said. “And his rhythm got disrupted. However, we got to work him back into his rhythm. … He’s just got to get back in game shape and he’ll do that.”
- Mark Mitchell led the way for the Tigers with 22 points, while also pulling down five rebounds.
- Sebastian Mack added 13 points.
- Jacob Crews went 3-of-5 from 3 to help create a 15-point day. His 60-percent shooting beyond the arc brought down his season average to 61.5 (16-of-26).
- Jayden Stone added 12 points and six rebounds.
- After having just two games where the Tigers had six players score in double figures in his first three season’s, Gates’ fourth Tiger team has done it twice in a row.
“People say you have five starters,” Gates said. “Last year we had six with Caleb Grill. This year we got seven. And they’re playing like that when you can have double-digit consistent guys like a Jayden Stone and a Jacob Crews.”
- Mizzou out rebounded South Dakota 38-24.
- The Tigers lead 24-14 in points off turnovers, 56-24 in points in the paint and 34-22 in points off the bench.
Post-game press conference
Dennis Gates, Jevon Porter & Mark Mitchell
Up next
Mizzou (6-0) will look to stay undefeated when hosts South Carolina State at 7 p.m. Tuesday.