Missouri set itself up for another second-half collapse on the road Saturday at South Carolina, surging to a 19-point lead before halftime at Colonial Life Arena. This time, though, the Tigers had Jeremiah Tilmon.
Mizzou showed early signs of splintering in the second half but quickly restored order and snapped its three-game losing streak with a 93-78 victory to complete an SEC regular-season sweep for the first time since 2014. It was No. 20 MU's highest-scoring SEC game in Cuonzo Martin's four seasons.
The Tigers (14-6, 7-6 Southeastern Conference) got a lift from Tilmon’s return after the senior center missed the last two games because a death in his family. He finished with 17 points and didn’t miss a single shot or commit a foul in 21 minutes: He was 5 of 5 from the field and 7 of 7 from the foul line.
Dru Smith matched his 17 points, while Xavier Pinson added 16, Mark Smith added 13 and Kobe Brown finished with 12.
MU came into Saturday’s game getting outscored in seven straight SEC games in the second half, by a whopping 39 points in their three straight losses. But when South Carolina (5-11, 3-9) got within seven points nine minutes into the second half, the Tigers ran off a 19-6 run to regain control for good.
With Tilmon starting on the bench, Brown continued what he started Tuesday at Georgia, scoring Mizzou’s first five points. By the time Tilmon stepped on the court, the Tigers led 13-7 at the first media timeout, getting a pair of 3s from Pinson and Mark Smith.
Even with Tilmon on the floor, the Tigers continued to play through Brown, who had 10 of MU’s 20 points at the 12-minute mark. Tilmon’s first action came at the foul line, where he sank both his shots.
Even when Brown went to the bench with two fouls and a game-high 12 points, the Tigers added to their lead behind their balanced attack. Pinson played one of his better halves in a while, making good decisions with the ball while scoring seven points with no turnovers. Dru Smith was efficient, too, giving the Tigers eight points and five assists while playing tight defense on USC’s A.J. Lawson, one of the SEC’s top scorers. Lawson missed five of his first six 3-pointers, including three air-balls, but gave the Gamecocks a whiff of momentum heading into the locker room with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that got his team within 16 points of Mizzou’s lead.
The return of Mizzou’s stifling half-court defense was clear from the start, especially once Tilmon entered the game. USC attempted only seven layups or dunks in the first half and connected on only three. MU took care of the ball on the offensive end — only four possessions on 38 possessions — to limit USC’s transition chances.
The second half started ominously for the Tigers as South Carolina quickly got within nine points of the lead. But with mostly the second unit on the floor, the Tigers managed to hold off another South Carolina burst. Javon Pickett added two much-needed baskets before leaving the game clutching his left ankle. Just before the 12-minute timeout, Tilmon salvaged a lost possession with a shot-clock beating jumper for a 59-48 lead.
The Tigers stayed on the attack, pushing the lead to 17 on three straight Mark Smith baskets to capture control for good.
